Decaying Bluebells
by Darkpetal16
Summary: The Chaos Theory dictates that the smallest pebble dropped into the ocean would create the greatest of tidal waves. How much change could one new life make, if added to a world it was never meant to be in? Self-Insert, Oc.
1. Arc I - Introduction

_No snappy quotes in this chapter. Sorry darlings. Maybe later though._

**_Summary: _**_The Chaos Theory dictates that the smallest pebble dropped into the ocean would create the greatest of tidal waves. How much change could one new life make, if added to a world it was never meant to be in? Self-Insert. Oc._

**_Disclaimer: _**_I own nothing. Wait. I own this book that I bought off of Amazon. It is a wonderful book. I forget what it's called but it is wonderful. I think._

**_Warning: _**_Nothing for this chapter. Character death, I suppose._

**_Beta: _**_Kalafina94_

* * *

Nao.

That was the name I was given in this world. The name that I have been called, the name I have responded to, the name I have worn for many years now.

It was as familiar to me as my old name was.

Though for the life of me I could no longer remember my old name. Come to think of it, I could scarcely remember anything else of the old me. In the beginning I could remember it with such clarity it pained me to be in this new, strange world. But now, I am afraid that me has long ago been forced to fade along with other ghosts of my past.

The old me was—_is_—no longer needed and as such, she had left.

The new me, the current me, is the speaker of this story.

I have heard of others that have been put in my situation, vaguely recalling the stories and adventures they told. The hardships and scars they were forced to face. But I have yet to meet another one in this world (in _my_ world).

Perhaps I have missed them.

Perhaps I am merely alone in this fashion.

But it matters not of the rumors of others. Nothing can be changed or done with mere thoughts and speculations.

Something I have learned many times over in this (my) life.

I will spare you the horror of my birth into this world, as I have chosen to repress the memories of helplessness and fear for this moment.

I will spare you the first few months of my struggle with my frail, premature body in the hospital, where I was probed and poked out by creatures in white.

I will spare you the first two years of my life where I struggled with a rapidly decaying illness and miraculously recovered.

Instead, I will start with the day I was first brought home from that dreary place they dare refer to as a hospital.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Snuggled in the warm blankets Momma had brought me, I was carefully carried in by Papa. My home—as they insisted I refer to it as—was large and strangely styled. I had never seen anything like it. I recalled vaguely there were whispers that referred to it as a _compound_ or an _estate_.

Inside there were many people gathered, all of whom still looked so strange to me. There were a group of large people to my left, a group of dark haired people to my right and in the middle was an arrangement between blonde and… orange.

I only recognized one face among the crowd of people inside the large room.

My older sister.

I could see now, that there was a banner strung up behind the group of people. There was food—cake, ice cream, other colorful foods that I did not recognize—streamers, presents, all sorts of other goodies stacked around.

I was slightly overwhelmed and I curled into Papa.

Papa chuckled lightly, his strong arms moving to set me down on the ground.

I did not like this arrangement. I was not safe on the ground. I clutched the blankets around me, disliking how they were too big for me and slid off me. That was when she came to me.

A stumble run of sorts, her face lit up with joy and her pale blonde hair shining in the light of the _home_.

"Nao-chan!" she exclaimed excitedly.

My face lit up as well, relief and happiness spreading across it as the familiar (safe) figure came towards me. Tiny arms wrapped around me, too small to engulf me and the large blankets. My arms were locked in the blankets and prevented me from hugging her as well.

I disliked this even more so.

I released my hold on my blankets, using my frail arms to wrap around her waist. I hugged my sister tightly.

When I released her, I glanced around to see all eyes on us. Different emotions flickered across their face. For some, relief, others joy. It was a strange sight to see such an array of emotions staring down at (me) us.

Confusion washed over my features and I turned towards Momma.

Momma always had answers to my questions.

She gave me a smile, but it was unlike the smile I had seen within the past two years. That smile was strained, tight, (broken) sad, this smile was warm and bright. My confusion doubled.

Momma was never this happy when she looked at me.

Carefully, she knelt down to me at eye level. "Nao-chan, this is your birthday."

The language she spoke, so foreign to me at first, had become second nature to me now. Unlike usual, my mind did not need to forcefully think the words out to understand them.

"Okay," I said, having nothing else to say. Who cares if it's my birthday?

My sister hugged me again. "This is the first time y… you're home. 'Cause now y… you're all better."

I blinked my eyes owlishly at everyone. They continued to watch me.

Vaguely I got the impression they were calculating me, measuring me, placing me under a microscope and studying me. I felt so small under their gazes, so weak and helpless. My body was already frail from its fight with my disease, it could not take much more.

My cheeks warmed and my eyes trailed down.

"Okay," I mumbled, tugging at the blanket and beginning to wrap it around me again.

They chuckled at my actions, much to my displeasure.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

A month after my birthday party, I found my sister outside with Papa in our large backyard (training grounds).

My blanket rested in my bed where it would stay. Momma was unhappy that I lugged it around everywhere I went and dirtied it. But I argued with her that it made me feel safe. When questioned how it made me feel safe, I said it was the size and how I could fit into it and disappear.

In my blanket's place, she gave me a very large white hoodie. The sleeves were so long they dragged to the ground if I did not pick them up, the length of it so long it fell past my knees and the hood so wide my entire head was lost to it.

But I enjoyed it.

Momma enjoyed it as well. Despite it being white, it rarely was dirtied enough to be of notice. Momma had explained to me, when questioned, that it was made of a special _chakra_ material.

That was my second clue to what world I had been born in (the first being the strange food and language along with strange clothing).

My sister was taking a stance, a familiar one (tai kwon do) and her face was mixed with displeasure and mild annoyance. She was covered in dried dirt along with a few bruises. In front of her, Papa stood with an amused smile and a relaxed stance.

I ran towards them, smiling widely. "Onee-chan!"

My sister's face broke away from annoyance and into joy upon seeing me. She shot Papa a smug look before turning back to me and opening her arms. I kept running until I had entered them, wrapping my own arms around her.

"Wha' are you doing?" I asked, my voice muffled against her.

She smiled and pulled back. "Otou-san's making me train." Her face screwed up as if the word _train_ was a bitter taste in her mouth. "He's been working me into the ground!"

I blinked up owlishly at my sister before turning to Papa. "Train?"

Papa gave me a smile. "Something you will do when you are older."

I blinked, taken back by this answer. I looked between my sister and Papa, frowning. "But I wan' train now."

Worry crossed over Papa's face and he gave me a frown. "I do not think—"

"Why can't she train?" My sister folded her arms across her chest. "I could use the partner! I j... just began this stuff too, you know."

I looked back up at Papa, my eyes wide and pleading. I did not want to make my Papa uncomfortable, but the prospect of doing an activity with my dear sister—no matter how tedious or strenuous—seemed far more appealing than watching everyone move about their day alone.

I was rarely allowed to partake in many things around the house, either too small and young or too frail in their eyes. Momma would teach me all that she could in writing and reading but I had already long since grasped those with ease.

Papa pursed his lips and gave a small nod. "A single spar. If—and I am emphasizing _if_ here—you do well, then we may see if we can continue these lessons. But do not feel discouraged if you do not. Your sister is older than you and has been training in this longer than you—if only by a year."

I nodded my head firmly and smiled at my sister.

Papa glanced between the two of us. "Taijutsu only."

"Yeah, yeah," She said with a grin and wink at me. I giggled, my desire to please and impress my sister increasing.

_Taijutsu_…

The word was so familiar to me though. A strong sense of déjà vu washed over me from it, but for the life of me I could not place where I had heard it from. But it sounded _similar_ to jujitsu. Perhaps Papa merely mispronounced the word?

Jujitsu. I was not familiar with the style, I only studied tae kwon do, not bothering to master the pins and defensive stances jujitsu normally dominated in.

My feet slid apart and my hands moved up into the familiar positions. A stance I had not taken in two years, at least. I was glad I could remember the basics of it. Even though my body did feel awkward in it, my mind told it otherwise.

Papa frowned, watching me carefully.

My sister seemed unperturbed by it though, taking another, different yet similar stance. At Papa's nod to begin, she rushed forward.

I inwardly frowned.

She had dropped her main style already, giving me a wide opening to attack. No wonder Papa was drilling her through stances; she had a horrid habit. For a flash, I felt fear and worry for my sister. What if she were in a real fight? She would lose and become injured with such a wide opening!

I snaked forward, my body angling towards her opening. My hands snapped forward, driving up in between her own sloppily held arms. I pushed her arms out and away, my left leg shooting forward and hooking around her right knee. I kicked it in, forcing her to fall towards me.

If she were to become injured, I would feel awful. She was my sister and I didn't want anything to happen to her. I wanted to protect her and keep her safe, just as she had done for me the past two years. If Papa was teaching her how to fight this early, then he must have had a reason to. Papa never did anything without careful reasoning. If Papa thinks she needs to learn to fight, then she _needed_ to learn to fight. If she needed to learn to fight then she would, obviously, be in a fight...

My body twisted so my right arm hooked underneath her own right armpit. My body continued to twist, moving with her fall towards me and I pulled her right side over me. She landed with a thud on her back in front of me.

She stared up at me with wide eyes.

I looked down at her with concerned eyes.

"Onee-chan?" I asked tentatively.

"That was awesome!" She burst out, quickly scrambling up to tackle me in a hug. "You're so amazing, Nao-chan. How did you do that? You have to show me—no wait, better idea. You have to show Otou-san. Ha! Otou-san can train you instead of me, how's that sound?"

I frowned. "But Onee-chan, you nee' to learn to defend yourself."

Papa moved forward. "Your sister is right, Ino. As the Clan Heiress you must learn this. Inonao, excellent work."

At my real name, my frowned deepened. I did not like my birth name and preferred everyone called me _Nao_.

Ino pouted slightly but didn't seemed actually put off. "But Nao-chan was great, right Otou-san? Does that mean she can train with us too? Please?"

My eyes widened at the prospect of permanently training with my sister. A smile lit up my face and I looked eagerly at Papa. Papa eyed us both before chuckling and holding up his hands in surrender. "Alright. It's clear Nao is adept in taijustu, at the very least. Let's move on to chakra, shall we?"

I blinked.

That… sounded even more familiar.

I frowned, an odd thought wiggling through me. "Papa? Where do we live?"

Papa smiled at me. "Konoha, dear."

Oh.

Wait.

What?

* * *

_And so concludes the first chapter for Nao._

_Nao's updation will be once a week on a Wednesday (unless something occurs). _

_This will be my first _serious _take at a self-insert. As in character flaws, character growth, actual plot development, etc. For those of you coming to read this from my Sakura story, you will find it drastically different. For those of you new to my stories, welcome._

_Overall, I hope you enjoy my story. If not, well there's a pretty little x button at the top. :)_

_**The Question: **__For those of you new to my stories, I will have a question for (you) the readers at the end of every chapter. I had seen some of my favorite writers do this and it seemed like a fun thing to do. You don't need to answer the question(s) if you don't want to._

_My question is, if you were reborn into the Narutoverse, what family would you want to belong to?_

_Reviews are **love**._


	2. Arc I - Ability

_Still no snazzy quote. Next chapter though, promise. ;)_

**_Disclaimer: _**_Story. Mine. Naruto. Kishimoto's._

**_Beta (who is wonderful): _**_Kalafina94_

* * *

It's been a year since I had begun my training with Ino. Taijutsu, I had discovered, was a combination of many fighting styles. My fighting style that I had shown was a very basic style, apparently. It was a style that was not better suited to my tiny (frail; weak) body. Papa and Momma worked hard to find a style that better suited me.

It was a very complicated style that had me landing on my tailbone multiple times. While I didn't enjoy learning it, I very much appreciated what the end results would be.

Chakra training, I had discovered, was very difficult for Ino and most others.

This was because they had known their chakra all along. Had it become second nature to them like their own heartbeat, only better hidden. They could not distinguish the difference between their body and chakra.

While this was slightly different for me, it was not different by much. Though chakra was new to me, I had grown accustomed to it over the first years of my life here. For me, telling the difference still required deep concentration but it came with much more ease than my elder sister.

Chakra training was basic for us. We only practiced locating our chakra, and pushing it to different parts of our body. This came easily for both of us once we had found our chakra inside. It would appear chakra control was a very natural thing for us.

It did not surprise me considering our kekkai genkai.

Which brought me to what we were training for today.

Today was our first step into learning our clan's kekkai genkai.

We sat with our legs folded underneath us in our indoor training hall. Today the training hall was empty—a request by Papa to better help us concentrate. In our laps were two doll-like figures.

Papa sat in front of us, his legs folded underneath him. "Today we begin your first training session as Yamanaka clan members. Our clan specializes in mind attacks, utilizing sensory abilities—transferring consciousness, reading minds and communicating telepathically. Our first lesson will be our most basic clan technique—transferring consciousness."

I shifted slightly and Papa eyed us both carefully. "To do this you will utilize your chakra to its maximum potential. Force it to project and wrap around yourself and then _push_ it out of you and at your target. You must not push too much into the attack as it will overshoot and the entire jutsu will become void. You must not push too little or your entire jutsu will fail and you will be stuck outside of your body for several minutes—sometimes an hour."

Ino gave a sharp intake of breath and my eyes widened.

"You must have complete control over the jutsu," Papa said firmly. "You must _will_ it to bend to your wishes. Never, I repeat, _never,_ let _it_ control _you_."

Ino and I nodded earnestly. Papa's firm face relaxed into a smile again. "These dolls in front of you will be what you practice with. Before you fully push your consciousness outside of your body, you must first understand _how_ to do so, which way to go and how to return. You will push your consciousness until it brushes across the doll. If you do this correctly, the doll will glow blue. If you do it incorrectly—push it too far or too little—it will glow red. Take as much time as you need; there is no rush."

"Okay, Otou-san," Ino said, glancing down at the doll and furrowing her brows.

I looked down at the doll as well, frowning slightly. My eyes flickered closed and it took me a moment to find my chakra. Deep and steady, it hummed inside of my chest. Pleased that I could find it, I began forcing it through me, up through my body and out of my hands towards the door.

In my mind, I willed myself to leave my body and follow the chakra.

Nothing happened.

My eyes flickered open when a light probed against the lids. My gaze slid over and I found Ino's doll had begun to glow a bright blue.

Ino was smiling widely. "That's so easy!"

Papa gave her a warm smile.

I frowned thoughtfully.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Two more weeks have passed and Ino's training has already advanced to the next stage while mine has proved fruitless.

For the hundredth (millionth) time, I stared down at the doll and felt frustration creep upon me yet again where the doll did not glow. Papa had been watching me very close to see what I have been doing wrong.

"I don't get it," I whispered, my eyes stinging from the possibility of yet another shameful day. How childish of me to get upset over such a little thing. But yet it _wasn't _a little thing. Not to me. Ino had gotten it on her first try—as had most of the other members in the clan. If not on their first try then on their second or third.

It was not normal to push two weeks.

"Perhaps you are too young for the exercise," Papa said gently.

But I knew that wasn't true. There have been clan prodigies, children younger than I who could do this with such ease. Age was not a limit to us.

"I don't get it," I whispered again, my eyes blurring. "It's not fair. My mind doesn't _want_ to leave."

Papa froze, a thoughtful frown on his face. "What did you say?"

I looked up at Papa. "My mind doesn't want to leave. It wants to push and pull and move things. But it doesn't want to leave."

Papa's eyes flickered wide and a frown marred his face. "Nao-chan, stay here."

In a swift movement, Papa stood up from where he sat and prowled across the room. In a matter of seconds, he was out of sight, leaving me alone to my shameful frustration.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

When Papa returned, four elderly men returned with him. Papa sat down across from me again, and the elderly men surrounded me. Papa asked me very gently to repeat what I had told him. I repeated it.

The elders stared at me carefully, a mixture of wary and skeptical looks crossing their faces.

Papa asked me to show them what I had done before.

I did.

Their faces remained the same.

Papa then asked me to bend to my mind and do what it pleases.

"But Papa," I objected, "didn't you say _not_ to?"

Papa gave me a kind smile. "Nao-chan, when concerning with the mind transfer jutsu, you must never allow your mind to take control. What you might be doing is very different from that jutsu. Trust me, alright?"

I trusted Papa. Papa was safe and secure. Papa made me feel warm and protected. He was my bigger blanket and my stronger hoodie. Not only that, but I wanted to please him. For the past two weeks, I had been failing terribly and this was my possible chance to make up for it.

I closed my eyes and felt for my chakra. The steady hum of it vibrated through me and I forced it back through my body, weaving it around me.

My chakra wanted to project to the other objects. It wanted to disperse into the air and reappear next to the objects. It wanted to move the objects. To lift them, pull them, push them. It wanted to _control_ them.

All of them.

But it was not strong enough to reach so far so it settled for the object that sat in my lap. It wrapped around it, a steady hum vibrating against it.

My chakra pulsed, producing a beat of its own. At the beat, I could feel the object being lifted up into the air.

My eyes fluttered open and I stared at the doll.

A thin line of—black? white?—chakra outlined it. The doll was lifted up to my nose where it shakily stayed.

Shock froze me, but it did not last for long. Pride swelled in me, I had been able to make a reaction of sorts. Though it may not have been the reaction Papa and the others had been expecting, it was better than nothing at all—correct?

Correct. Papa must be pleased with me as well.

Wasn't he?

Before my eyes could drag towards Papa though, a wave of fatigue came down on me. My entire body shook and I could feel my chakra had dwindled considerably. I gave a strangled gasp of air and my chakra snapped away from the doll where it fell with a plump to my lap.

Still shaking, I noticed I had perspired heavily, sweat dotting across my brow. My breath came in short shallow gasps and my body shuddered.

My eyes drooped shut and darkness enveloped me.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Darkness dotted my vision as my eyes fluttered open. Weariness brushed across me and I weakly sat up. It would appear I had been moved back to our main room. I had been placed on the couch with a blanket tossed over me. My head twisted around and I noticed Papa, Momma and the elders from before had taken note of me, pulling out of their conversation.

As I sat up though, a sharp pounding arched through my head and I winced.

"Nao-chan," Momma said with a warm smile.

"Momma," I said blearily. "I'm sleepy."

"You've exhausted your chakra from that one shot," explained one of the elders, a gentle smile on his face.

"What was it?" I asked, my eyes looking between Papa and Momma.

"It would appear you have developed your own branch to our kekkai genkai," said another elder.

The corner of my lips twitched down and confusion came through me. "What do you mean?"

"Our kekkai genkai," Papa said, "is in essence, the ability to project and bend our chakra with our will and as our will. It is because of this that we are able to do the things we do. It is rare, but not unheard of, but there are some people in our clan that develop completely different jutsus with the kekkai genkai. Jutsus completely unique to them."

I shifted, tiredness washing over me. "Is that why I couldn't mind trans… fer?"

The third elder dipped his head. "You will never be able to achieve true mind-transfer or any of the other standard techniques."

My eyes widened and horror crossed my features. My eyes watered and I looked at Papa. "I'm sorry, Papa."

Papa frowned. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Nao-chan."

"B-But I won't be able to do what you want from me," I whispered, my voice wavering. The prospect of failing my Papa was horrible. The shame and frustration it brought upon me was undesirable at best. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to have a normal mind.

"You have _nothing_ to be sorry for," Papa said again, albeit more firm. Then again with a more gentle tone. "It is perfectly natural. It only means you will have a different training schedule than normal for your ninjustu training."

"Really?" I asked.

"Really," Momma assured me.

I smiled, relieved.

"So what... what exactly does this... do?" I asked softly.

"You are not the first to have what we call the _Ishi-no-tōei-jutsu _(Projection-of-Will-jutsu)," the first elder said gently. "The five before you all follow the same rules with this jutsu. It is a difficult jutsu and with little reward, even the most experienced user who trained under it for _decades_ could only ever manage to control or lift things three times their weight and only for a set amount of time."

My brow furrowed, considering this.

"As you have already seen, it takes an alarming amount of chakra to do so as well, no matter how short or small," he continued. "Not to mention it pushes on the user's mindframe, hence your migraine."

"I will... hurt every time I use it?"

"Most likely," Papa said softly, taking my hand. "As I said before, our clan specializes in mind jutsus. The reason those aforementioned ones are the most common is because it's in our very DNA to bend our mind that way. With you, it's a..."

"Mut... Mutation?"

Momma took my other hand, kissing the top of my head softly. "Unique twist, is what I would call it."

It was a mutation.

"Can I... Will I really no' be able to do the other techniques?"

"Not truly," the second elder admitted. "Perhaps a more... watered down version of the mind-reading jutsu at best. But that would of course take years and you could never do it fully. Only one of the previous users of your technique could ever master one of the other techniques enough to use it."

"So all I can do... is this one thing that will hurt me and may even be too useless in battle?"

"Possibly," the first elder murmured. "It is not uncommon to develop a second technique."

I perked up at this. "Really? Like what?"

"It varies," Papa said. "And it won't last forever."

I wilted. "What do you mean?"

"At best, if a second technique _does _appear, it will rise in power before declining rapidly until you can no longer use it," the third elder said bluntly. "The longest a second technique has ever lasted is two years and even then it was more taxing on the user to be used often."

I closed my eyes, inwardly sighing in defeat.

So I was a mutant among my own clan with a technique that would be too taxing to use in battle, as well as painful, and only a slight chance of ever being helpful.

How quaint.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Imouto?" Ino inquired, sitting down next to me. "Something wrong?"

I shrugged, leaning into her. "Nee-chan?"

Ino moved, shifting my body so my head laid in her lap. "Mm?"

I shook my head, choosing to remain quiet as I contemplated.

Three years since I was born into this world and already I could feel myself slipping. _She_, my old self, was slipping. My death, I had repressed down to such a point where I couldn't even recall it upon birthing into this world. Just the events leading up to it and my life before it.

When I thought of my life, I felt my chest constrict and such a longing came over me. I was hurting because I could no longer have what I desired most and I feared I would repress my past life as well. Already images, faces, names... all of it was so blury to me.

Worse of all, I knew I could stop it. I knew I could start writing things down. I could confront it and keep hold of my memories but I just... didn't... want... to.

I hated feeling so horrible, so guilty for enjoying life here when _they_ must have been grieving me. I hated feeling such utter helplessness and loneliness and longing for them, it was driving me insane. I wanted my memories shoved so far into me until I couldn't remember them anymore. I didn't _want_ them.

I knew, I _knew_ too, that I shouldn't. I had knowledge of this world-at the very least I should hold onto my memories for their sake.

But I couldn't.

I couldn't bring myself to do it.

I was selfish. So very, very selfish.

I wanted a new life here.

I opened my eyes and stared up at her bright blue eyes.

She would cry.

I hated that.

I didn't want her to be upset... especially over my own actions. Asuma... The war...

But I wasn't strong. I died too young to have a chance to grow up, and I was still so very young here.

Ino tilted her head. "Nao-chan?"

But she wasn't at fault... Ino... _Nee-chan_ didn't deserve unhappiness by my selfish actions... but did I deserve to suffer in silence for the rest of my life?

I thought back to our most basic training before the doll exercises, the will to influence our mind. If I could compare it to anything it would be like our wills to control our subconscious. Impossible in my previous life, but rather ordinary in the Yamanaka Clan. After all, they would need to be able to utilize every inch of their mind to project it out of their body and if their subconscious fought them even the slightest bit...

But I wouldn't need my subconcious to be completely open to me. I had a different technique that didn't require it.

I knew how to control it enough... to perhaps do what I wanted it to do...

I smiled at Ino. "I love you, Nee-chan."

Yes... if I could... perhaps try it _that_ way... That way I wouldn't have to feel those horrible memories anymore but I could still... I could still call upon them when I needed them... I could manipulate my subconscious to repress them and only pull them up when I was in a certain situation...

Ino returned my smile with a bright one.

"I love you, too, Nao-chan!"

I was so very selfish.

I wanted to forget everything that made me _me_, and remember everything that would make me _Nao_.

* * *

_Ta-Da... So her memories will be locked away until certain events will occur... I think I would probably do the same. It would really suck to remember all your loved ones and not be able to reach them in the slightest._

**_Answer: _**_Kiba's Clan because I love doggies. And Tsume is awesome. Them or Shikamaru's Clan because come on... they're pretty kick ass too._

**_Question: _**_What nin-partner would you want? (Animal wise)_

_Reviews are **love**._

**_Updates will be once a week, every Wednesday. _**


	3. Arc I - Academy

_"Why does Facebook even give me the option to like my own status? Of course I'll like my own status. I'm hilarious. And sexy."_

_-Anonymous_

_**Disclaimer: **Not mine._

_**Warning: **Fluff overload._

**_Beta: _**_Kalafina94_

* * *

We began the academy today.

It had been a little over a year since the discovery of my specialized kekkai genkai. True to their words, I had been placed in a different training schedule when concerning chakra. While Ino and I still shared the same basic physical hand-to-hand combat schedule (we were equals in that now), Ino continued her training for the mind transfer, while I further practiced my own.

Ino was very good with her training, but she seemed to be losing her motivation for it.

Why do you ask?

Because of her dear friend, Sakura.

Sakura was a pink haired girl with (what I've been told) a wide brow (though I found it perfectly normal). Ino had been friends with her even before I came home from the hospital. But it would seem their friendship had developed immensely over this last year due to the fact of them both now old enough to 'hang out' without parental supervision.

I did not understand the need to go out of their way to show off their friendship instead of train.

But perhaps my view was tainted from my quiet jealousy.

My sister and I were together all the time but now with Sakura more active in their relationship, it would appear she was more interested in her than me. In the beginning I was fine with this—it was perfectly normal for friends or siblings to branch out.

But then Ino started losing interest in training—the only time we spent together since Sakura came along.

It frustrated me that the one time we were able to 'hang out', she was no longer interested in the subject we both used to love. It frustrated me even more so that instead of focusing on the training (me) she chose to daydream about what Sakura and her would do next.

I understood I was being petty and selfish in wanting my sister all to myself. It was completely childish and irrational of me but that did not stop me from _feeling_ it.

However it did stop me from voicing my opinion and actively sabotaging their relationship.

Besides, Sakura herself was a very sweet girl though she was quiet. I would feel guilty in harming their relationship for it seemed Sakura had very few friends.

Mayhap I would have liked to become her friend if it weren't for my silly jealousy.

Though it was impossible to tell.

When Academy enrollment came around, Papa offered me to join Ino's group.

If I were a normal child I would have been enrolled at seven—like Ino and Sakura. But I was not a normal child. I kept up in par with Ino and could hold my own. Some people whispered the word _prodigy_ around me.

That was not accurate. At least, for whatever reason I thought it was not. This nagging feeling in the back of my head telling me that I was not a prodigy. That was unique in the way prodigies were, but I was not a true prodigy.

But I could think of no reasoning behind this, so I dismissed it.

Returning back to the main point though, I was able to join class with my sister and this pleased me, naturally I accepted.

Which brought me (finally) to where we stood now…

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I held Ino's hand in my own hand, my shyness getting the better of me. Ino tugged me along, a pretty smile on her face. I hid behind her, my hood for my hoodie pulled up high and my arms shoved into its pockets—with the exception of the hand that was being held in Ino's.

There were lots of other students at the academy and very few teachers. The parents, it would seem, had dropped off their children and moved onto the parent-teacher meeting. Papa and Momma were among them.

Ino's eyes searched the crowd for what I knew to be her best friend.

I felt a pang of jealousy, but I bit my lip and pushed it down. Ino's eyes lit up upon seeing her.

Sakura was maneuvering through the crowd, her gaze searching and uncertain until she finally locked eyes with Ino.

Ino's grip around my hand loosened and I did not bother holding on. My hand dropped to my side before I pushed it into its pocket. Ino rushed forward to Sakura, not sparing me a second glance.

My eyes trailed downwards as she became lost in the crowd. A wave of sadness mixed with mild anger came over me and I turned my back towards them abruptly. I did not like being lost in the crowd alone and I did not like being (ditched) left behind by my own sister.

So instead I moved through the crowd, eventually finding my way out and heading over to a small empty area.

Though it was not entirely empty.

A boy—about Ino's age—was sitting on a swing tied to a tree. His gaze was searching and hopeful amongst the crowd—as if he were hoping for a friend to come out and greet him. But at the same time there was doubt in it. As if he didn't believe such a friend existed.

But I recognized his stance, his hunched shoulders and curled hands. He was defensive and lonely. Unsure of the others yet longing to let them in.

I looked back at the crowd, at where my sister and her _friend_ were and felt a fit of defiance wash over me.

If Ino could have a friend, couldn't I?

In an irrationally bold movement I stomped forward towards the boy and locked eyes with him.

Our contact lasted perhaps a second or two before I lost my nerve and my cheeks flamed. Feeling incredibly self conscious and shy, I lowered my gaze down to my feet and shuffled. "Hi."

The boy stared at me a moment before offering a tentative smile. "Hi."

I shuffled again and kicked at some dirt. "I'm Nao."

"Naruto," the boy said with a large smile.

I looked back up, the name causing a sense of familiarity to wash over me. My hands dug further in my pocket as I nodded in acknowledgement to his response. My cheeks still felt warm though. "What class are you in?"

"1-B," Naruto said.

A smile graced my lips. "Me too. So is my Onee-chan."

"Really?" Naruto asked.

I nodded my head and lowered my gaze again. "Do yah wanna walk to class 'gether?"

Naruto's face lit up, his beam so bright and his smile so sincere it forced me to wonder if it was really directed at _me_. The warmth from my cheeks spread across my face and I nodded my head, unsure of what else to say or do.

How long had it been since I had contact with anyone else aside from family?

"You wanna go now?" Naruto asked me, still smiling.

I nodded my head and held out my hand.

Naruto stared at it, confusion coming across his face.

A frown dipped my lips down. Had I done something wrong? Was it not normal to hold your friend's hand and walk around together? Ino and Sakura were insistent upon doing such things so I had merely assumed...

Was this boy perhaps offended that I had made the bold insinuation that he and I were friends?

"What do you want?" Naruto finally asked.

I stared at him, my eyes widening. "You're supposed to take it. Onee-chan always holds hands with her friends."

"Friends?" Naruto echoed, his eyes widening to match mine. "Are you saying we're friends?"

Uncertainty and hesitation had me pause. "Do you not want to be?"

Naruto shook his head eagerly. "No! I just… didn't know."

I nodded my head and held out my hand closer towards him. After hesitating another minute he took it.

His hand was smooth and very warm, almost hot, in my hold. I kept my other hand tucked inside it and took a tentative step towards the academy building. Naruto hesitated before following behind me. Slowly and quietly, we walked to class.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Naruto and I sat in the far back. Ino and Sakura had come in earlier and claimed their seats next to each other. Ino had motioned for me to join them, but it was only three to a seat. I had motioned Naruto to her and she gave me a warm smile and nod.

I was pleased she did not try to hinder my new possible friendship with Naruto.

I was even more pleased when I did not feel as jealous over Ino's attention as I normally would have.

Naruto was hesitant and shy at first, as if he were afraid I would run away from him the next second. Which was ridiculous in of itself.

Though part of me was glad for his shyness as it comforted me in a sort of roundabout way knowing that others were shy as well. Ino seemed forever outgoing, as did most members of my family. I always felt sort of odd that I preferred to hide myself away from the world and they did not.

The first part of class was relatively uneventful.

At lunch, Naruto and I sat by the tree we first met at, sitting under its shady area. The rest of the class had moved to have lunch behind the school so we were alone.

I pulled out my lunch and set it out, noticing how Naruto didn't bring anything out with him.

Frowning I looked at him. "Where's your lunch?"

Naruto shifted uncomfortably—nervously?—and said, "Don't have one."

My frowned deepened and I motioned to some of my own lunch. "You can share with me then. Momma always tries to overfeed me anyway."

Naruto's eyes widened and he gaped at me. "A-Are you sure?"

I nodded. "We'll have to share chopsticks though. Are you okay with that?"

Naruto nodded his head firmly and I broke the chopsticks. After taking a bite for myself I offered them to Naruto.

Naruto took the chopsticks carefully.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

After school, Ino told me she was going to 'hang out' with Sakura for a while and asked me to come along. I politely declined. Not because I had Naruto now, but because the prospect of watching my sister and her friend giggle on for hours upon hours about things I did not understand did not appeal to me in the slightest.

So instead, I bade Naruto goodbye and promised to see him tomorrow and headed home without Ino.

It would appear my academy days weren't going to be terrible in the slightest.

* * *

_Slooowwww build-up._

_Sorry, for the short chapters. The next one will be the last short chapter in this entire story. Then they'll be back up to my usual standards of length unless even more school stuff pop up and I have to divide my time... again... 'Course now I can't wait for summer vacation. So much free time. ▼_▼￢ _

_Besides, I need to fluff up the beginning as much as I can to make up for the... stuff... that... will... happen..._

_And because I kind of want to be a bit of an a-hole. I'm doing _preview _quotes! Quotes taken from the next chapter and whatnot._

**_Answer: _**_Dragon. I kid, I kid. If I could, then I so would have a dragon. But on a more serious note, probably dog or fox. Fox in honor of Kurama, and dog because tracking actually seems like a lot of fun to me._

**_Question: _**_Worst movie you've ever seen?_

**_Preview: _**_"My dear sister it would seem, had been crying her eyes out."_

_Reviews are **love**._

_Fanfiction is being horrendous. I'm trying to use the DocX to send out the next chapters for _Chipped Mask _and _Decaying Bluebells _but it. Just. Won't. Send. For any of my readers that are also reading the self-inert, _Decaying Bluebells, _sorry. But it might be late until I can send finally send the chapter out to my beta._


	4. Arc I - Friends

**_Disclaimer: _**_Not mine._

**_Warning: _**_Fluffy-ness?_

**_Beta: _**_Kalafina94_

* * *

Naruto and I had become very close friends in the course of a single month.

In that time, I have discovered many things.

For one thing, Naruto was not a very shy person at all. He was very outgoing, and very unabashed by others. He was not afraid to proclaim himself to the others; on multiple occasions he even declared himself to be the next Hokage.

It had also come to my attention that Naruto received many inappropriate treatments, mostly from the other kids as well as a few teachers. Naruto tried his best to ignore it, but at times, I had noticed it crack through his wall.

Naruto was a very kind boy who always had a smile.

Though his attention span was lacking, as he despised studying with a burning passion, I had been trying to come up with ways to make studying entertaining, but have yet to think of such a way. At least of ways that would entertain _him_.

I had noticed that I myself am quite satisfied with having my one friend to myself and sharing Ino with Sakura. My jealousy was nonexistent.

I have also noticed that Naruto seems to be able to read my feelings very well and understand what I want. I rarely have had to speak in order to interpret what I desire from others; Naruto is more than willing to do such for me. It satisfies me that I do not yet have to face up to my shyness.

Papa and Momma were hesitant of my relationship with Naruto, but only for a few days when I first informed them. After I had brought Naruto home—which I do weekly (daily if I can) now—for dinner, Momma ate him up. Not literally, of course; that would be most displeasing if she did.

Naruto loved family dinners. He was very polite at first, but he had grown to be more relaxed over frequent visits. Ino and him are tentative friends—similar to mine and Sakura's—friendship. Only friendly because the other was a sibling to the other.

But I did not mind hogging Naruto to myself. I was quite pleased with it in fact.

And Naruto did not seem to mind my attention at all. He seemed quite pleased with it as well.

All in all, however, we had what some might call an uneventful first month in the academy. That was alright, though. I was certain my life would be very advantageous when I graduated the academy. Better to relax now and enjoy it while I could.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

At lunch, Naruto and I sat in front of each other, our shared lunch (Mom had added a lot more food to it now, knowing I was sharing it with Naruto) spread out before us.

"Nao-chan."

I looked up and smiled shyly. "Hi Shika-niichan."

Shikamaru was the son of my Papa's best friend—or one of his best friends. Ino disliked him though, saying he was so boring, but _I_ liked him. He was quiet and never pressured me into speaking when I would much rather be silent.

Shikamaru and I didn't talk much during school; he said he would much rather nap than talk so I never bothered to bring him to our lunch.

Naruto looked up at Shikamaru, slightly wary and slightly curious.

"Naru-kun," I said. "This is Shika-niichan. Shika-niichan, this is my best friend, Naru-kun."

"Naruto-kun, then?" Shikamaru asked with a lazy drawl.

Naruto, at his newly found title, shot me a smile before grinning openly at Shikamaru. "Hey. What brings you over here?"

Shikamaru held up a boxed lunch. "Okaa-san ordered me to make a friend to bring home. I was hoping you two would cover it."

Naruto and I exchanged a glance. I noticed that Naruto was positively beaming at the prospect of another friend. Though what surprised me most was that I held no feelings of jealousy over Naruto. In fact, it was the opposite. I was _ecstatic_ for him to make another friend. I was even more happy that it had been Shikamaru.

I patted the ground next to me. "You're always welcome to join us, Nii-chan."

Shikamaru nodded his head slowly before plopping on the ground next to me and across from Naruto. He rolled out his lunch and added it to our pile. "You guys don't mind sharing right? I know I hate half the stuff Okaa-san packs me but I _do_ like your kelp…"

Naruto and I exchanged yet another glance. Both of us were smiling smugly.

"Bring some food and we'll be happy to share what we have," Naruto said, a smug smile on his face.

Shikamaru gave him a sort of crooked grin in reply. "Fair enough."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

At Shikamaru's house, Naruto and I lounged around on his roof. The three of us just laid back and stared up at the clouds, but I could tell Naruto was itching to move. His energy seemed boundless and endless to me at times. Sometimes I pitied him, for I doubted he would ever be able to take a moment to relax without longing to be on the move.

But Naruto enjoyed our company more than he enjoyed movement so he did not complain and he merely watched the clouds.

Vaguely, and lazily, we each pointed out shapes, and odd things the clouds formed.

After dinner, Naruto and I headed our separate ways just as the sun was setting.

I for home and him to that empty, cracked apartment he refers to as his 'home'.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

When I came home, it was not even a minute afterwards did Ino come rushing in. My eyes widened in surprise at her abrupt entry, but quickly hardened upon seeing her state. My dear sister, it would seem, had been crying her eyes out.

Her usually beautiful blue eyes were puffy and red. Her cheeks pale and flushed, her clothes dirtied, and her hair a mess. She sniffled and already, I was moving forward. My hand grabbed her own and I guided her to the front room and pushed her on the couch before crawling in after her.

My arms snaked around her and I held her tightly. Her arms wrapped around me and she clung to me, her cries becoming more apparent.

No words were exchanged; we only held each other. I offered her comfort and she took it gladly.

When her tears finally subsided, and her hiccups faded away, I looked back up at her with a worried expression.

I was most unhappy about seeing my sister in such a state. "Onee-chan, what happened?"

"Sakura," Ino whispered, "doesn't want to be friends anymore."

My eyes widened and I lifted my small hand to pat her cheek. "Why not?"

"Sasuke-kun."

At the familiar name, I felt a twinge of annoyance. Sasuke had been my sister's claim. The moment she saw him, she passionately declared to us (Sakura and me) how in love she was with him. From that day on, I had merely viewed him as my sister's property. Untouchable.

"What do you mean?" I inquired. Truth be told, I had a sickening feeling that I knew exactly what she meant. Call it a hunch; a gut feeling.

"She doesn't want to be friends with me so _she_ can have Sasuke-kun!" Ino cried, her eyes watering again.

Anger flared through me. Anger at how my sister was hurt and in pain from this girl. Anger at how my sister was being silly and allowing a boy to come between her and Sakura. Anger at this boy for being the object of my sister's attention and ruining her valued friendship with Sakura.

But I pushed two of those aside for they were irrational. But I still held on to my anger at Sakura for breaking my sister's heart. She was my sister. I didn't ever want to see her hurt nor would I forgive anyone who did hurt her.

"Why don't I ask Momma to make us some hot chocolate?" I asked. "Then we can stay up late and watch movies. We don't have school tomorrow."

Ino sniffled.

"I can invite Naru-kun and Nii-chan over tomorrow, too," I continued hesitantly, unsure if this would upset her more or not, "and we can all watch movies. Just us four."

Ino's face broke out into a watery smile that shone with gratitude. "Thank you so much, Nao-chan. I would like that very much."

I nodded my head and moved to hug her again.

My sister hugged me back just as tight as she used to long before Sakura came into her life.

I was satisfied to say I did not feel any selfish glee in this fact.

Perhaps my time with Naruto has allowed me to develop a better nature.

Or maybe I just loved my sister too much to have such selfish thoughts in her time of need.

Either reason worked for me.

* * *

_You can all thank my wonderful beta for this chapter. This is the last short chapter and she was able to edit it fast enough for it to be a double updation._

_And so concludes the tiny chapters (hopefully!)_

**_Answer: _**_I want to say _Beastly. _Simply because I read the book, was expecting some fluffy little beast and got... Not. In my eyes they completely butchered the book which seriously pissed me off. _

**_Question: _**_Silliest thing you've ever worn?_

**_Preview: _**_He stared at me another moment, flat eyes locking with icy blue. "Kakashi."_

_Reviews are **love!**_

_See you Wednesday. _


	5. Arc I - Growing

_**Disclaimer: **Only Nao is mine in this story._

_**Warning: **Nothing really._

_**Beta: **Kalafina94_

* * *

Despite the comfort provided, Ino did not change drastically as one would have expected from such a break down. She did not join us for lunch—though she was more polite to Shikamaru and more friendly with Naruto. And at home, she was very nice and open with me again; which was a pleasant surprise.

Though, she still did not take her training too seriously ever again. She preferred to hang out with her other female friends of the academy. While this may have upset me months ago, I have come to the conclusion that Ino would not be taking her duties as a kunoichi seriously until needed to.

This did not please me, but I did not complain. She had no real reason to take it seriously for the moment. It did not stop me from worrying over her, nonetheless.

A boy named Chōji had joined our lunch group. Shikamaru said he's 'cool' and I have recognized him to the son of my Papa's other best friend. We had not interacted much before as he was too shy and I was far shyer.

Between training and academy, I had found myself to be busy.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Momma," I asked with a tired yawn. My footsteps followed behind said woman echoed softly in the quiet house. Momma, dressed in dark clothing and holding a bouquet of flowers from our store, paused in her movement to glance at me.

"Yes, dear?" She inquired in her honey smooth voice. I always liked her voice.

"Where are you going?" I asked, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. The sun was just barely up and Ino was still fast asleep along with Papa. But I wasn't exhausted from work or simply a late sleeper like them and slept lightly the previous night. Momma had awoken me when she peeked in my room to check on me before leaving.

Momma turned fully from the door and gave me a gentle smile. "I am going to visit a friend, dear."

"Who?" I asked, ever curious.

Idly, I wondered if my curiosity was because of my youth, or because I was generally a curious person in this world.

"You wouldn't know her," Momma said softly. "She died long before you were born."

Naturally, this spiked my interest even more so. "Who was she, Momma?"

Momma eyed me for a moment before motioning to follow behind her. Wordlessly, I trailed behind Momma into our sitting room, where she sat down carefully on the couch. She placed her flowers beside her and picked me up. Carefully, she sat me in her lap and brushed back a stray bang from my face.

"Her name was Naomi," She said. "She was my best friend—my first real friend from the academy. You are, in fact, named after her, little Nao-chan."

My eyes widened considerably at this fact.

Momma brushed my hair gently with her fingers, her eyes glazing over as if she were lost in another world. "We were at war; my team and her team were teamed together at the front lines. We shouldn't have been; we were much too young—still Genin—but it was war and we were desperate. I… I had made a foolish mistake. I had injured an Iwa shinobi, an older shinobi, and he fled. But I was mad at him at the time for illogical reasons."

Momma stilled in her brushings. "I followed him blindly and fell right into his trap—a planned ambush. There were… many of them. I could only take out so many before I was forced to flee. While although, I was able to evade some of them, I was wounded and bleeding heavily. I was found by a single Iwa shinobi and tried to fake my death. I was hopelessly out of chakra and was running ideas; I wouldn't stand a chance against him in my current state. But just as the man approached me…"

Momma's eyes shimmered slightly, not unlike the first sign of tears, but she did not let a single drop escape. "Naomi jumped him. They fought and she nearly won. He was weakened enough for both of us to escape, but at the last minute, he made a lunge towards me. I was weak and dying and I couldn't dodge it. Naomi lurched in front of me and took his attack straight through the heart."

Momma's eyes moved back towards mine. "She died for me. She could have left me there for dead and lived, but she chose to sacrifice herself for me. I will never forget her, Nao-chan."

"Then where are you going?" My voice barely a whisper. I felt that if I spoke too loudly I would shatter the fragile silence Momma had wrapped around us in her story. While the story was tragic, I found myself more humbled and awed than sad.

"There is a stone near one of the training grounds," Momma said. "K.I.A. stone. Naomi's name is written on that stone because we couldn't recover her body from the battle. It serves as her grave and I intend to visit her and bring her the flowers."

"May I come?" I inquired. For reasons I could not describe, this story rang a familiar note with me. The idea of risking your life... of dying in the place of another just seemed so, _so_ familiar. I found myself relating to the girl who gave her life for my dear mother. But not just her, I realized, _all _of the shinobi. All of the soldiers dying to protect those they loved. I couldn't explain it. This sympathy and humbling feeling in me. But for one reason or another, I felt able to relate to her and, by extensions, those that have died. I felt _comfortable_ with her. In an almost twisted way, I felt more comfortable with those that have died than I ever had with those living in this world.

Momma smiled and kissed the top of my head. "Sweet girl, not today. You need to go back to bed; it's still early."

I felt a frown tug at my lips. "But I want to give her flowers, too."

Momma chuckled. "When you place flowers at the stone, you not only give flowers for her, but for every shinobi and kunoichi to have died in battle engraved on that stone. When you give flowers, you should mean it for them as well."

"Yes, Momma."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Next weekend, I contemplated which flowers to bring. The sun was set to begin rising in ten minutes and I wanted to get to the stone early enough that no one else would be there. Momma was still asleep with Papa, both exhausted from their work, and Ino wouldn't be up for several more hours.

Carefully, I examined each flower in our shop, my mind rummaging through each name and each meaning. After a full minute passed, I finally settled on a flower.

Bluebells, symbolizing gratitude, humility, and constancy.

I tied a decomposable blue ribbon around a bouquet of bluebells, carefully making sure they were presentable. Satisfied, I then turned away and left the shop.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

The sun was just barely beginning to rise, casting the sky a faint violet-blue when I reached the stone. My feet were noiseless against the soft dew covered grass and my hoodie was incredibly warm against the crisp cool air.

A sense of déjà vu washed over me upon seeing the familiar stone, quickly followed by confusion. I was so certain that I had never been to this stone, yet it seemed so familiar and so important. Had I perhaps seen a picture of it somewhere at home?

_Of course not. Why would someone waste their time to take a picture of such a thing?_

I wracked through my brain, carefully picking out memories and discarding them.

The stone was rapidly approaching up in front of me and I felt a frown tug at my lips.

An even more familiar man stood in front of the stone. His shoulders hunched and his gaze focused intently—if not sadly—at the stone. More importantly at a fixed spot on the stone. His clothes were that of an ANBU, though his porcelain mask was set around his waist.

Hesitantly, I approached him. "Ano…"

Immediately, his posture straightened and his gaze swung towards me. The lower half of his face was concealed by a thin mask. I could see a scar run down from his left eye, which glowed a stark red and black.

I blinked up owlishly at him. "Hello."

He eyed me another moment before turning back to the stone, his posture relaxing.

Feeling oddly shy, yet even more oddly bold, I moved to stand beside him before setting down the flowers at the stone. I tucked my legs underneath me and sat on the grass, bowed my head, and closed my eyes.

When the sun had fully risen, the warm rays at my back, my eyes flickered open and I looked up at the man. His eyes had yet to move from their spot and he did not spare me a single glance.

I stood up, my legs stiff from sitting so long, before brushing off bits of grass and dirt. I dipped my head in a silent farewell, both to the man and the stone, before I turned away and headed home.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Two weeks later, I still kept up my ritual of meeting the strange man at the stone and praying for the departed. For two weeks, school passed by without much note as I settled into a pattern.

"Naru-kun," I scolded lightly, "you shouldn't be eating so much junk food. Why haven't you touched any vegetables?"

Naruto's face screwed up at the thought and he stuck his tongue out at me. Shikamaru rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath while Chōji gave a laugh.

"Not my fault that vegetables taste so nasty," Naruto snorted.

Shikamaru sighed and slouched, relaxing his posture until he was lying soon on his back and looking up at the clear sky.

"Nii-chan," I said, "can't you explain it to Naru-kun?"

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered.

"Ne, ne," Chōji said, "if Naruto-kun doesn't want to eat any of his food, I'll eat it."

I gave a sigh as Naruto's face lit up. "See, see? Chōji's willing to eat it. So it won't go to waste."

My eyes rolled and I gave a sort of amused smile.

That was about when Sasuke showed up.

He sort of sprinted around the building, ran past us and ducked behind the tree. The four of us blinked around at each other.

A twinge of annoyance had me partially scowling at the spot the boy had chosen as his hiding spot before turning back around to see a mob of fan girls—my sister included—rushing from around the building in search of the Uchiha.

Vaguely, they reminded me of a pack of dog-nin on the trail of a missing-nin-kitty.

Once Ino had spotted us, her face lit up and she gave me a warm smile. "Nao-chan, have you seen Sasuke-kun?"

Now, had my sister asked me a year before today, I would have answered her immediately and precisely. A year before today, I was still vying for attention in hopes of stealing her back from Sakura. But it was not a year before today.

I had friends and did not rely so heavily on her attention—and I suspected soon enough I would be able to grow away from her entirely—and I felt small pity for Sasuke. My sister could be merciless when the object of her attention was threatening to escape. I should know. My appearance has more than once been brought up to be her object of attention. And while I loved my sister dearly, I did _not_ like playing dress up with _me_ as the doll.

I shook my head. "No, Onee-chan."

Ino's face fell and she pursed her lips before rounding up her group of (fan girls) friends and guiding them back to the front of the school.

Once they were gone, Sasuke poked his head out from behind the tree and grimaced.

I suppose I could see why my sister was so infatuated with him. He was, in fact, a cute little boy. But I found no attraction towards him; just acceptance of his appearance. As far as I would ever be concerned, he would always remain as my sister's in that fashion. She could have him in a romantic fashion to her heart's pleasure.

I tilted my head and Naruto snorted. "Can't control your fan girls, Teme?"

Sasuke scowled at Naruto. "At least I have some, Dobe."

"I wouldn't call that an achievement from what I've seen," Shikamaru said dryly. "They seem more troublesome than their worth."

Sasuke winced and nodded his head in agreement.

At that moment, his stomach rumbled.

Naruto snorted again and gave him a sly smile. "Hungry, Teme?"

"Shut up, Dobe," Sasuke glowered.

I tilted my head, my cheeks warming as my shyness took hold again. "Would you care to join us, Uchiha-san?"

Sasuke frowned and looked around at the group before settling his eyes on me. He eyed me suspiciously, his eyes narrowed. Naruto followed his gaze and gave a hoot of laughter. "Don't even think about it, Teme! Nao-chan wouldn't fan girl over you in a _million_ years!"

Sasuke frowned, but still watched me carefully.

I ducked my head in embarrassment. "I apologize if this, um, offends you, Uchiha-san, but I do not see what is so great about you. I do not know you at all."

Sasuke nodded his head once. "Finally, a sane girl in our class."

I gave a sort of bitter-sweet smile and let the remark slide about my sister's sanity. It was not a lie, when it came from him, and I did not see reason to logically defend it. She might be my sister, but my Momma preached to me about honesty. I would be lying in defending her, however much I irrationally wanted to at the moment.

Sasuke sat down beside Shikamaru and Naruto, before frowning at his lack of chopsticks and how he did not have a lunch for himself. Most likely the fan girls stole it away from him, or he was forced to leave it behind in his flight.

I rummaged through the pack before giving him a pair of clean chopsticks. "Momma always packs extra in case another friend joins us. You can use these, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke nodded his head mutely and took the chopsticks before eyeing the food carefully.

I nudged Naruto and he gave me a sort of frown before sighing. "Help yourself, Teme. We always have a lot of food 'cause of Chōji's and Nao-chan's Okaa-sans, but it doesn't last long. So if you wanna eat, you better do it fast."

Sasuke snorted, but complied.

It would appear we had a new companion for our lunch. If only because we held the only safe spot in the school. Even if the fan girls found us, the majority of them wouldn't come over because of Naruto. Ino might, but so long as Sasuke ducked behind the tree every time they came over…

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I set down the bluebells once again and sat down in front of the stone. But before I began my usual ritual, I tilted my head up at the man beside me. My shyness for him had slowly dwindled down from the weeks of visiting this place. Now only curiosity took its place.

"Sir?" I asked hesitantly.

His eyes trailed down to look at mine. He said nothing, but I knew I had his attention.

Suddenly feeling shy all over again, I blushed lightly. "My name is Nao."

He stared at me another moment, flat eyes locking with icy blue. "Kakashi."

I smiled and nodded my head before I turned back to pray. Kakashi eyed me another moment before he turned back to stare at the stone.

But I had a funny feeling I still had his attention.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"So Onee-chan won't be over this weekend," I said to the group one lunch break. "She's going to a slumber party at one of her friend's house. So I was wondering if you guys wanted to come over…"

"You know I'll be there," Naruto said with his sunny grin, his clear blue eyes lighting up.

"Troublesome, but I know if I don't go on my own, Okaa-san will make me," Shikamaru muttered.

"I'll come," Chōji said happily.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "I'd have to ask Otou-san and Okaa-san. If I don't show up by dinner, assume I'm not coming at all."

I nodded my head. My friends could only all come over when Ino was gone. Otherwise Ino would get angry at Shikamaru, or fan girl over at Sasuke. It limited how often they were able to come over, but it didn't seem too much of a hinder, as Ino almost always had plans.

It still amazed me; she had yet to figure out my (growing) friendship with Sasuke.

It still amazed me I hadn't ratted him out to her yet.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

After dinner the following night—Sasuke had shown up in the end—the five of us gathered outside as the sky slowly darkened. Each of us held a flashlight in our hands. Naruto and Chōji were grinning in anticipation.

"Everyone know the rules now?" I inquired.

The game was simple. It was flashlight tag.

One of us would be 'it' and give the rest of the team a three minute head start to hide in the lush forest that connected both the Yamanaka Clan and the Nara Clan (and technically the Akamachi Clan), where all of our flowers and herbs and other ingredients grew for our flower shop and the Akamachi food pills _and_ the Nara's special food for their deer.

In the center of the forest was a large oak tree with a red band tied around one of its branches. That would be the safe pole. The first person to reach the pole without getting caught won. But whoever was caught had to join the person who was it and help capture the others.

The person who was it could only capture the others if they touched them.

Because Shikamaru, Chōji and I knew this forest better than the other two, we had a handicap. Sasuke was it while the three of us only had a single minute head start and the others' a three minute head start.

"Yep," Naruto said for all of them.

I smiled. "Ready when you are, Sasuke-san."

Sasuke nodded his head.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

In the end, Sasuke had tagged us all.

Don't ever underestimate an Uchiha who just had his ego insulted by a certain sunny-blond-sore-loser.

* * *

_I am so sorry for the week-late update. There was a malfunction in communication between my beta and myself and well... _

_Hopefully it won't happen again, but who can say?_

_On a side note... I finally got to watch _Road to Ninja _Japanese audio with subs on Narutoget . com... Eep! Loved it. _

**_Answer: _**_Butterfly costume. With giant wings and everything. Don't ask. I try not to think about it._

**_Question: _**_Most fun outdoor / gym game you played as a kid?_

**_Preview:_**

My entire body froze, eyes widening. "Where is he?"

"He's in the hospital for the moment—"

_Reivews are **love**!_


	6. Arc I - Remnant

_**Disclaimer: **Nao is mine. Mine, mine, mine._

_**Warning: **Hints of character death._

_**Beta: **Kalafina94_

* * *

More weeks went by unnoticed, the routine taking effect for our small group.

One particularly brave day at the stone, I looked up at Kakashi. My shyness forced my cheeks to burn and my eyes to have a strong urge to trail down, but my curiosity was overriding my shyness for the moment. Instead, I fiddled with my fingers in the sleeves of my hoodie.

"Kakashi-san?" I asked tentatively.

Kakashi looked down at me. "Yes, Nao-san?"

I shifted nervously, fighting the urge to look down and away and mumble never mind. I swallowed roughly. "Why are you here every day?"

I blushed brightly at realizing how rude that might have come out to say. That question might very well have been personal for him and I had never intended to sound so direct… I quickly looked down at my feet, preparing to dismiss what I had said, but stopped when he responded.

"All of my loved ones are on this stone," Kakashi said, his voice holding a small twinge of regret. "As well as all of my mistakes. I come here for them, as well as myself."

Shocked by his answer, I looked up and blinked at him owlishly. "So this stone is precious to you?"

"… I suppose you could say that," Kakashi said.

I nodded my head mutely and looked back down at my feet, shuffling and shifting under his gaze.

"Why do you come here, Nao-san?" Kakashi inquired politely.

I shifted again and looked down at the bluebells I had placed. "I don't know how to explain it."

Kakashi waited patiently for me to continue. My shyness insisted that I stopped there, and find an excuse to leave, but I found the better of part of me wanting something else. I _wanted_ to talk to him. To tell him my reason for coming here being a ritual and to answer his question. I wanted that very much at that moment. But how to explain it? What words could I use?

"I… My Momma's best friend sacrificed her life for her," I said quietly. "I'm very grateful to her, but not only her. Everyone on here gave their life for this village—for me. I don't really know how to explain it. Everyone on here died for someone else. I feel... I don't know," my brow furrowed, "... humbled? Grateful? Whatever it is, I _do_ feel... I mean I..." Words ran through my mind as frustration bubbled in me. _What was the word? _And suddenly I found it. I latched onto it tightly. "Awe. I'm in awe of them."

"You're in awe of them," Kakashi said slowly, his single visible eye never leaving mine.

In a way, that was how I felt. However, like I mentioned before, it was more like I was able to... _understand_ them. I felt, so strongly, as if I could relate to their last moments of life. To their feelings and convictions in wanting to protect those that they loved. It was so strange, and completely irrational as I had never felt that way before in my entire life, but it was _true_. I felt as though, in some weird way, _I_ belonged on that stone. That _I_ had already sacrificed my life for someone, and that it was my turn to rest.

But I couldn't very well say that, could I? It was insane, ridiculous.

I fidgeted under his gaze, breaking eye contact first. My eyes trailed back down to the ground as I blushed brightly. "... Yeah..."

Kakashi didn't respond for a long time, forcing me to worry that I had said something offensive to him. When he did, there was a small underline tone of… something… admiration? affection?... in his voice. "Maa. I suppose you could idolize worse people."

I sputtered, unsure if I should take that as a compliment or an insult, but Kakashi held up a hand, causing me to stop, though I still blushed.

He turned back towards the stone, his hand lifting up to trace over a particular engraving. "My comrade sacrificed his life for me, and in the process gave me the greatest gift he could give. I will never forget that day or him."

"Who was he?" I asked.

"Uchiha Obito," Kakashi said, a pang of regret in his voice.

I dipped my head. "Do you miss him?"

"Every day."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"S-Sasuke-san," I asked nervously after school, fidgeting with my fingers. Sasuke frowned at me. The two of us were hidden away from the others behind the tree while he waited for his brother to come and pick him up.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, frowning still.

"I have a favor," I confessed, "and I'm really sorry if it's a bother, but…"

"What's the favor?" Sasuke inquired.

"I was… well… There's this… friend of mine who really misses one of his friends—that friend died, by the way. It turns out the dead friend is an Uchiha," I said. "I was hoping if maybe I could come with you and well… _take_ something from the dead Uchiha to give it to my friend to remember him by."

I cringed inwardly at how rude it sounded, but Sasuke only frowned thoughtfully. "Who is it?"

"Uchiha Obita," I answered.

Sasuke mulled it over for a minute before he nodded his head. "Sure. Come over after dinner and I'll see what I can get you."

I beamed. "Thank you, Sasuke-san!"

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I waited politely at the front door to the Uchiha main house in the Uchiha compound. I had already knocked, and needed only to wait. When the door slid open, Itachi stared down at me. He gave me a warm smile. "Hello Nao-chan."

"Hi, Itachi-kun," I said politely. "Is Sasuke…?"

"Coming!"

I looked around Itachi's side to see Sasuke barreling down the hallway, carrying a peculiar object in his hands. He gave me a smirkish-grin, and stepped beside Itachi, holding them out. Upon closer inspection I noted they were goggles.

They seemed nearly new, only worn perhaps a few times at best. The frame of the goggles was a dark blue, along with the strap while the actual lens was an icy blue. Hesitantly I took the goggles. "What are they?"

"They're his spare goggles," Sasuke answered me. "His real goggles got busted, but Shisui-san said that Obito always wore these goggles when the lens broke in his original pair, or his strap broke or something. Which apparently happened more frequently than you'd imagine."

I took a closer look at the goggles. "They look brand new."

"Obito-kun always took care for his goggles," Itachi replied. "Even the ones he wore every day looked shiny and new most of the time."

I nodded my head. "And you're sure I can keep it?"

Both of the brothers nodded.

I smiled. "Thank you both, very much."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

The next time I saw Kakashi, I had a fit of shyness over take me so much it took me nearly the entire time to so much as look in his direction. After scolding myself severely for quite some time in my head, I finally mustered up the courage to talk to him.

"Kakashi-san…?"

"Mn."

"I… have something for you," I said, pulling out a carefully wrapped set of goggles. I held them out to Kakashi who seemed to frown at them before taking the package. He unwrapped it slowly.

His single visible eye widened considerably at seeing what laid inside the package.

"Where did you get this?" Kakashi asked.

"Sasuke-san gave it to me when I asked about Obito-san," I said shyly. "Momma always told me she kept a scarf of her friend she always used to wear. She said it helped her a lot. I thought maybe having some of Obito's would help you, Kakashi-san."

Kakashi stared at the goggles another moment before looking down at me, his eye no longer wide, but hiding a twist between amusement, and melancholy. "I do not need these to remember Obito by, but I thank you for the thought, Nao-san."

"Oh…"

Carefully, Kakashi knelt down in front of me, holding out the goggles. "But I think these goggles would be better suited for you."

My face flushed, and I struggled for a moment to find the nerve to so much as make a sound. "B-B-But…"

With gentle hands, Kakashi took the goggles, and placed them on my head, propping them up at the top of my head, and pulling the strap around back. He lifted my long hair to tuck it under before dropping my hair back down. He placed a warm hand at the top of my head. "Now, now, I want you to have them, Nao-san."

I blushed brightly, looking down.

"Nao-_chan_," I mumbled.

Kakashi tilted his head. "Only if you drop the 'san' for me."

I looked back up, surprised. "I… o-okay…"

Kakashi's eye crinkled and I had a feeling he was smiling.

I felt pleased at this information, my heart fluttering.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

It was an ordinary night like every other night when it happened.

When it did happen, I must confess how completely off guard I felt from it. Some vague sense of me felt as if I knew it was coming. Which was ridiculous because predicting this would have been impossible.

I remember sleeping lightly in my bed, curled up and clutching my blanket when I heard it. The strangled gasp that was quickly muffled from a little ways from my room. From the front room, if I was not mistaken.

Bleary eyed, and drowsy, I climbed out of my bed. I shivered lightly before I grabbed my hoodie and pulled it over me. My feet made a soft padding noise as I walked down the wooden hallway towards the front room.

Momma and Papa were standing at the door, an unknown ANBU shinobi at the front door. I blinked up, wide eyed as I hurried over to their side. The three of them spared me a glance as I quickly clung onto Papa's leg.

"Why are you awake, sweetie?" Momma asked gently. "You should go back to bed."

"What's going on?" I asked quietly, feeling shy around the unknown person.

Papa and Momma exchanged a glance before Papa very carefully knelt down before me, keeping eye contact with me. "Your friend, Uchiha Sasuke, just underwent a very traumatic experience."

My entire body froze, eyes widening. "Where is he?"

"He's in the hospital for the moment—"

"I want to go see him," I blurted out. "Please, Papa!"

Papa gave a small nod. "I had figured you would say that. Perhaps being around familiar contact would be good, but…"

Papa and Momma exchanged another look. Papa looked back to the ANBU. "As soon as I drop my daughter off, I will head to the… scene… immediately."

"Understood, sir."

Faster than I could blink, the ANBU was gone. I looked up at Papa, noticing how solemn and grim faced he was. I looked over at Momma, who looked so sad and lonely at that moment. My heart twisted inside my chest and I felt very small at that moment.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Sasuke sat up right in a hospital bed, an IV stuck in his arm, but he paid it no heed. Instead he merely sat perfectly still, staring blankly at the wall in front of him with dead eyes. I heard the door click shut behind me and knew the last doctor was gone.

Hesitantly, I approached him, clutching the blanket I had stolen from my bed. Sasuke paid me no heed and so I climbed onto the bed. Softly I touched his arm, afraid if I was too hard he might shatter before me. When he didn't respond, I touched him again, more firmly.

His skin was freezing cold beneath me.

With a bit more resolve, I pulled the blanket around the two of us, wrapping it tightly. I used my arms to wrap around him and I pulled him in to lean against me, just as my sister had done for me so many times. I moved my hand to carefully pet his hair.

In the most soothing voice I could muster, I murmured quietly to him about unimportant things. Rambling only to offer him a distraction from the horror of his imagination. It was the same thing sister would do for me whenever I was scared or sad.

I could only imagine how terrible it must have been. To watch your entire family slaughtered before your eyes by your own sibling. Vaguely, I tried to picture Ino doing such a thing and the pain inside my chest was unbearable. How lonely that would have been. How awful.

Even just hearing the secondhand mutterings of what had happened from the doctors was enough to send _me _reeling into a light shock. I couldn't even begin to grasp what my friend was feeling.

Time passed slowly for the two of us. Not once did Sasuke respond to me, and not once did I try and make him respond.

The door slid open and Papa entered. He dipped his head towards me.

"Papa?" I asked him. "What's going to happen to him?"

Papa's expression grew more solemn, his face carefully blank. "A section of the Uchiha compound has been cleared of the… incident. There is nothing physically wrong with him so he will be sent back there."

My eyes widened with horror as Sasuke flinched. "No! You can't do that to him, Papa. That's wrong! Please, can't he come home with us?"

Papa gave me a sad look. "We've already petitioned for him to stay with one of the major Clan's here, but the Council won't hear of it. They say we'd only use him for political gain; as such he's forbidden to stay with us."

I clutched Sasuke tightly to him, a wave of fierce (familiar) protectiveness coming over me. "Please, Papa. You can't send him back there; that's too—that's too horrible."

"I'm sorry, kitten," Papa said gently. "But there is nothing else—"

"What about a non-Clan apartment?" I interrupted. "A friend who has no ties to any of the Clan's in Konoha? Could he stay there for a while, please? At least until they completely cleared the compound and… and…"

Papa eyed me carefully. "There is no rule against it. Do you have someone in mind?"

"I-I do…"

I looked back down, my hand smoothing out the ruffled hair I messed up in my fit of protectiveness. "May I stay with them, too, Papa?"

Papa hesitated. "Kitten, I don't think—"

"He's my friend," I said quietly. "He has no one else left, Papa. He'd do the same for me."

Our eyes met, mine filled with silent pleading and Papa's a cross of understanding and concern. A moment passed before he gave a slow nod. "You can stay with him and your friend… just until he's better, understand?"

My face lit up and I smiled. "Thank you, Papa."

Papa nodded his head. "I'll sign his release form and walk the two of you to your friend's house."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I squeezed Sasuke's hand, my blanket still wrapped around his shoulders. He didn't look so dead anymore; now he looked a cross between horror and sheer depression. It broke my heart to see my friend like this. I felt strongly dissatisfied about the whole ordeal, but I was content in knowing I would be able to be there for him. And hopefully everyone else would be too. I was certain that Shikamaru would know what to do about this whole mess, and that Chōji 's gentle nature would be most helpful.

Papa stood to my other side, and knocked on the door to the rundown apartment quietly. He knew who's this apartment belonged to. He seemed hesitant in still allowing me to stay, but my Papa trusted me. Between Ino and I, I had shown to be the more mature one. Even if only by slightly. Besides, this was a shinobi village.

If he really needed to he could be here in less than thirty seconds. Not to mention that I was capable of taking care of myself—or at this point at the very least _running away_ and getting help.

The door slowly creaked open, revealing a drowsy Naruto who was still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He frowned upon seeing us, his face twisting into confusion. "Wha…?"

"Naru-kun," I said quietly. "Do you mind if Sasuke-san and I stay here for a while?"

Naruto blinked at the two of us, taking in Sasuke's worn down form, before he nodded his head and opened the door widely. "'Course. Come on in."

I looked back up at Papa and he gave me a smile, swooping down to kiss the top of my head. In a quiet voice he murmured. "I'm going to have two of our Clan Jōnin stationed here twenty-four-seven. It's not that I don't trust you, kitten, it's just…"

I caught his eyes and gave him a smile. "I know, Papa. I love you, too."

"... I can't guarantee he will be allowed to stay here for very long."

"... I understand. Will he have any say in the matter?"

"Perhaps some. The Council will have an official discussion on what to do about him when he's in a better state to actually attend."

"Okay, thank you Papa."

Papa smiled again before nodding politely to Naruto, and quickly vanishing.

Naruto stepped aside, and I silently guided Sasuke inside the house.

"I only have one bed," Naruto said apologetically. "And sorry about the mess. Wasn't expecting company and all."

I smiled at Naruto. "It's okay. We're small enough we can share and I don't think _anyone_ was expecting this…"

"What exactly _is_ this?" Naruto asked me, still frowning at Sasuke.

I shot him a pained look, mouthing I'd explain it later. He seemed to take that as an answer, nodding his head quietly. I stepped around Sasuke, looking him over carefully. "Sasuke-san, do you need anything before we go to bed?"

And that's when Sasuke looked at me. _Really_ looked at him.

His eyes were wide with fright and such sadness, my heart clenched tightly and my stomach dropped. They were bright with unshed tears and his bottom lip wavered. Naruto quickly caught on to the expression because he gave Sasuke a worried one.

Then Sasuke's arm wrapped around me and he began sobbing. I bit my lip to fight back the tears that wanted to join him, instead I fell with him to the floor, holding him tightly. My eyes locked with Naruto's and he seemed to catch the hint. Naruto ghosted towards us, dropping down and wrapping his arms from behind Sasuke.

Sasuke's entire body shook, but not a single sound escaped him. My shoulder was already soaked from his tears and it didn't take much longer before I silently joined him. Naruto's arms held us both, while his eyes remained tear free, it still held a sadness—sadness for us.

This night was just too great of a reminder of how tragic reality really was.

And I had never felt so helpless in my life.

I hated it.

* * *

_First of all... for any of you _'Sakura'_ fans... I have new fanart._

_I feel HORRIBLE about not checking my account that often. In my defense, my SAI program is completely gone and not working so I haven't been able to do shit about all my drawings, so I haven't bothered checking my account._

_But then I JUST NOW checked it and got a message and... AMAZING fanart._

_Any Sakura fans MUST check it out. I have the link on profile, it's the second link I believe. Or just go check Kira-Tsume's gallery on Deviantart or my latest favs._

_-Cheers all around-_

_Anyway, if Kira-Tsume is reading this, I wanna say thanks again and I'm really sorry for not checking my inbox sooner. D: Sorry!_

* * *

_**Question: **Most horrible assignment you've ever had to do?_

_****__Preview:_

_"As I passed the school grounds, I caught sight of a (vaguely) familiar girl."_

_Reviews are **love**!_


	7. Arc I - Question

_**Disclaimer: **Not mine._

_**Beta: **featherstofly._

* * *

I was moving quietly through the streets, my mind wandering to places unknown. I was heading back to Naruto's apartment from home. I had returned home the following morning and Momma had been quick to pack everything we would need, informing me that she would stop by herself-along with the other clan matriarchs from the Ino-Shika-Cho trio-in a while.

As I passed the school grounds, I caught sight of a (vaguely) familiar girl.

I paused, unable to resist moving towards her. She was a year older than Ino, if I remembered correctly. I had seen her a few times before around the academy, but never bothered to truly interact with her. I stopped myself short of actually _calling out to her_, remembering myself and feeling a faint flush of embarrassment at my previously sudden urge to greet her.

However, before I could make my unnoticed escape, the girl paused as well, turning to face me. She smiled brightly. "Oh, hi there. I'm Tenten, what's your name?"

I blushed, my hands burying themselves in my hoodie pocket. "N-Nao. Yamanaka Nao, umm..."

Tenten nodded. "I've seen you around. You're something of a prodigy, aren't you? That's cool. Not a lot of girls in my class take their training seriously, you know?"

I thought of Sakura and (wince) my sister Ino. I nodded. "Y-Yeah..."

Tenten smiled brightly. "But I saw you practicing the other day and you looked really into it. Wish you were in _my_ class."

I giggled nervously, fidgeting under her surprisingly warm and thoughtful gaze. Tenten nodded. "Mm... Well, actually, I wanted to approach you earlier, but it never really seemed like the right time. Say, how would you like to be my sparing partner? Please? I _really_ need a moving target and Mina-sensei mentioned that you could use help in evasion, right? So it's a win-win! What do you say?"

My cheeks were on fire, both at the fact that she had asked about me, and that she was actually inviting me to train. I could only nod in response. "Um-y-yes, please. I look forward to training with you, Tenten-sempai!"

Tenten nodded again, smiling. "Cool. Meet me here after school every other day, 'kay?"

"O-Okay. I-I don't know if I'll be able to this week, but I'll try."

"It's cool. See you around, Nao-chan!"

I nodded again before making my escape.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

We were given a week off from school. At least Sasuke and I were, I was unsure if Naruto was, but either way he ended up skipping. Shikamaru and Chōji skipped the majority of those days as well. We mostly stayed in Naruto's apartment, where Sasuke refused to leave. So we stayed there and in all blunt honesty, we took care of him. Sasuke was catatonic for the majority of the day, merely going through the process of caring for himself—eating, drinking, bathing, etc—but never revealing his emotions. Only when night came around did he allow himself to show us just how really he was.

No words were exchanged about that night, no words were needed. Naruto and I merely held him as he cried silently. Even in sleep, with him tucked in between us and all of us curled up tightly, he awoke screaming from his nightmares, and having Naruto and I console him back to reality. On the nights that Shikamaru or Chōji stayed, it was just as bad and Chōji even started singing a lullaby for him.

But reality was cruel.

Only at the end of the week, did he begin show some emotion, however limited it was.

As I set down the plate of basic breakfast—eggs and toast, one of the _few_ dishes I knew how to make from Momma—in front of both Naruto, Sasuke and I, he spoke.

"I'm going to kill him."

Naruto and I looked up from our meal, and towards Sasuke. There was not a hint of sadness on his face, no, instead there was just a grim determination.

I blinked. "Are you certain?"

"Are you saying I'm weak?" Sasuke asked, his eyes flashing.

"At the moment you are," Naruto put in mildly.

Sasuke glowered at Naruto.

"That's not what I'm saying," I said soothingly, attempting to diffuse the situation because I really wasn't in the mood for a morning fight. "I'm merely questioning your motivation for doing this. He is your brother, and I know you love him."

"He _murdered _our family," Sasuke said, his eyes flashing again. "He's no longer my brother, and I _don't_ love him."

"You don't mean that," I said softly. "Even if Ino killed my clan, I would still love her. She's my sister and always will be. But what I meant was, do _you_ want to him or does your _Otou-san_ want to kill him?"

Sasuke's eyes widened.

Even in just the few encounters I've seen of Sasuke's father, I knew he was an unbending man. Sasuke constantly strived for his attention—for his recognition at anything Sasuke has done—but was constantly shoved aside for Itachi instead. He might have been a great leader, but he was a terrible father.

Not that I blamed him. The Uchiha uprising was a harsh thing and he had to adapt to it himself. I doubt he meant to hurt his son, to constantly drive a wedge between himself and him, but it became painfully clear to me that he just simply did not know _how_ to deal with Sasuke. He was awkward at fatherhood at best.

But it did not entirely excuse his actions.

Vengeance for the clan would have been the first thing he would have demanded. It was all for the Clan name, for the _glory_ of the Uchiha Clan. But none of that was Sasuke at this moment.

At this moment Sasuke was only a little boy who lost his entire family in one night.

"_I_ do," Sasuke whispered, but his resolve sounded less firm.

"Are you certain?" I asked gently. Some part of me didn't want him to go down that path. Itched and screamed at me to lead him away, manipulate him away if needed be. That if he went down that path, something horrible would happen. The instinct of it was so fierce I could do little, but go along with it and trust it.

"… No," Sasuke whispered, his eyes trailing downcast as he slowly prepared to lock himself back up again.

"I think," I said carefully, "that maybe instead you should work on finding out _why_ Itachi did it."

Yes, yes, why, why. That question echoed in the back of my mind and for reason I felt as if I could answer it. It was silly and stupid and preposterous, but nevertheless it was what I felt. And I felt as if I had to bring _Sasuke_ to question this. To answer it.

"He already told me," Sasuke said. "To test himself. To pit me against him. He wants me to hate him."

"That doesn't sound like Itachi," Naruto snorted dubiously.

I cocked my head. "I agree with Naruto. It's seems a little impossible anyway. I knew Itachi was a prodigy, but to be able to kill the _entire_ Uchiha Clan in only a few _hours_… it doesn't seem right."

Naruto nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah. I mean, aren't they some really kick-ass ANBU from the Uchiha Clan? So wouldn't that put them at least on the same level as Itachi?"

Sasuke frowned, his eyes lifting back up, and flickering between the two of us. "… Yeah… that's right…"

I nodded my head, my instinct seeming to guide my words.

"So doesn't that mean he had help?" I guessed.

"It does," Sasuke whispered, his eyes wide.

"Probably from some stranger," Naruto added. "Or strang_ers_. They must have snuck off right before Itachi finished up, that way they wouldn't get caught."

"And the entire massacre would be blamed on Itachi, and no one would know the wiser," I finished. "They would be getting away with it too. Most likely only Itachi knows who they are."

"Then I'll make him tell me," Sasuke said fiercely, his eyes flashing again, but this time with only determination.

"You aren't going to kill Itachi?" Naruto asked, frowning slightly.

Sasuke looked away and pursed his lips. "I don't know. If I have to, then I will. But I want to take care of these unknown _bastards_ first. To think they can just hide away and get away with this, I won't let that happen. At least Ani—Ita-the _bastard_-isn't afraid to claim what he's done."

Naruto nodded his head, smiling with ease. "Yeah, yeah. That way you won't even have to kill your own brother either."

Sasuke hesitated. "I said I didn't know, and I meant it. What Aniki did… I don't know what to think of it."

Naruto and I exchanged a glance. "Whatever your choice is, we're with you all the way."

Sasuke looked at us before a small smile graced his lips. "I know."

Naruto nodded firmly. "Good, Teme. Nice to have you back, by the way."

Sasuke snorted. "Dobe." He paused. "I want to move back in the compound."

I gave him an alarmed look, worry mixed with fear written across my face. He caught my look and continued, "But I want you two to move in with me."

Naruto gaped. "What?! Are you serious, Teme?"

"I don't… I mean I just… What I'm trying to say is…" Sasuke struggled for a moment before I placed a small hand over his own. I gave him a small smile.

"We know," I said. "I'll stay with you for as long as you need me, Sasuke-san. I'll move in with you." _So long as it's okay with Otou-san and Okaa-san... _

Sasuke nodded. "... And Shikamaru and Chōji too, maybe. I don't know... I just... I don't want to be... I don't want to go back there..." _alone_.

Naruto frowned. "You know I'll always be there for a friend and all, but I kind of like this place…"

"We can make it into a hide out?" I suggested shyly. "You know, just a small place for the three of us to hide away from the world. Ino and I used to have a small den in the bushes of our training ground. Then one of our cousins burnt all the bushes down in a training accident…"

Naruto chortled, and Sasuke allowed another small smile.

Naruto nodded his head, grinning widely. "I like that idea! Alright, Teme, I guess I'll _grace_ you with the _magnificence_ of my _presence_."

"Your vocabulary has improved, _ignoramus_ _cretin_," Sasuke said, a smirk forming on his face.

Naruto's face screwed up as he tried to think through the words. I leaned over the table and whispered their meaning to him and his face flushed. "You Teme!"

And for the first time in a while, Uchiha Sasuke laughed.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

We had fallen into a routine within the first three weeks of moving into the newly refurbished Uchiha compound with Sasuke. Shikamaru and Chōji didn't officially move in with us, but they both had rooms nonetheless and stayed some (most) nights. I didn't 'officially' live at the compound either, but I rarely ever went home. That same instinctual part of me from before seemed to be screaming at me to not give the Uchiha boy a second to be alone. We had gone back to school, the following day of 'moving in' and found that Sasuke's fan club had grown in numbers exponentially.

Finding it increasingly harder to find a safe place to eat at school, the five of us decided it would be better if we simply ate at Naruto's previous home, now currently our secret base. It was close enough to get there within five minutes of our hour long lunch/recess break, so we had plenty of time. Best of all, no fan girls tried to follow us off school, and the few that did we were able to lose fairly quickly through short cuts and alleyways.

We only 'lived in' a small portion of the Uchiha compound—the main house. Sasuke kept his old room, temporarily sharing it with Naruto and I on _those_ nights. I took the old study, keeping all of the old books and scrolls but replacing the actual furniture with my old bed and desk from home. Naruto took the spare guest room, happily filling it with newly paid furniture and small potted plants. Shikamaru took the second guest room and Chōji the previously known-as storage room.

We left Sasuke's parents' room and Itachi's room alone, using them only for storage.

Upon returning home from school, the three of us would work in a small group for homework. Though Sasuke and I finished early. Sasuke would then either study or help me assist Naruto in the school work. By the time Naruto was done we had usually an hour to spare for dinner.

Sasuke and I trained during this hour, while Naruto preferred to leave to do his pranks. Shikamaru would vary between napping and if Sasuke was persistent enough, training. Chōji was rather content with relaxing or even making us dinner-the boy could cook.

When the hour was up, the three of us ate dinner then all three of us trained in the Uchiha training grounds for another two hours before we took turns bathing and headed off to bed.

Of course it wasn't constantly the five of us. Papa or Momma would visit me frequently, usually right after we finished homework to help me train before staying for dinner. But it wasn't _too_ often as they both still had jobs but still… the same applied for Shikamaru and Chōji's mother. And after a couple weeks of training with Tenten, I had slowly brought her over and introduced her to everyone. She seemed to be readily accepted enough, which was good as I quite liked her.

We had fallen into a routine that suited the five of us well.

However, during those three weeks whenever I visited the stone…

… Kakashi wasn't there.

But this week, he was.

And much to my surprise, he was no longer wearing his ANBU outfit, but instead decked out in the Jōnin uniform. I gave a startled shout upon seeing him and before I could reign in my emotions, I dropped my flowers and barreled into his leg.

A small shout of surprise came from him and he looked down at me. His only visible eye crinkled. "Something wrong Nao-chan?"

"You were gone," I mumbled, my cheeks quickly flaming upon realization of what I had done. With great reluctance I pried myself off him. "I was worried."

"I'm sorry," Kakashi said surprisingly gently. "I was caught up in an investigation and was limited on time to come here."

"It's okay," I said quietly. "I was just worried."

Kakashi patted my head, ruffling my hair slightly. My eyes trailed down to the goggles around my neck before looking back up at Kakashi. "How come you're not dressed like ANBU anymore?"

Kakashi gave a quiet snort. "The Hokage wants me to take on my own team now. He actually believes I'd be _good_ at mentoring."

"I think you'll do amazing," I said honestly.

Kakashi snorted again. "When will _you_ be graduating?"

"Four years," I said. "I'm going to wait and graduate with my friends. That way we might be able to be on the same team together."

Kakashi nodded his head quietly. "Well then, who knows, I might just wait for you."

I smiled at that.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"So where exactly have you been staying, Nao-chan?" Ino asked me curiously one late weekend afternoon.

I blinked up at her, tearing my gaze away from the scroll I had currently been reading. It was the weekend and as such I had come over for clan training with Papa and occasionally the elders. Ino had just finished her training and was sitting across from me on outside walkway, breathing heavily and red faced.

I thought carefully on how to respond to her question.

I had never informed my beloved sister of my newest living arrangement and neither had anyone else. That was because I was worried about her reaction. On one hand she could be most displeased with me and play a jealous sibling. Even though I meant no harm in her… pursuit of Sasuke, he was my _friend_ and as such I would stand by his side. However that might not deter her wrath, something of which I was inclined to disincline to risk.

On the other hand she could use it to her advantage, which might be worse. For the moment, Sasuke was still recovering. It was a slow process, but it was still be happening, so long as he was able to focus himself on empowering or positive things. Those things did not include my sister or her frenzied friends. In fact, they would have a negative influence on him, much as I was reluctant to admit.

Ino would more than likely use me as an excuse to visit frequently and disturb Sasuke, something of which he would be not too pleased with. Not that I blamed him of course, but the fact of the matter remained the same.

Absently I wondered what excuse Papa and Momma had given her and why she was only just _now_ questioning me.

"What did Papa and Momma tell you?" I asked her.

"Otou-san only said you were staying with a friend," Ino said, her nose crinkling.

"I am," I said.

"How come?"

"They need my help," I answered. "Wouldn't you stay with one of your friends if they were hurt, Onee-chan?"

Ino smiled. "'Course I would. I just miss you, is all."

"I miss you too," I told her sincerely. "At least I'm not totally gone."

Ino nodded her head. "At least there's that. Ne, ne, did you study for the exam? I can't seem to focus, think you can help me?"

I giggled and nodded my head, because this was something I could do.

Something just the two of us could do.

Together.

Just like the old times.

* * *

_Sorry everyone! My CPU went, lolnope yesterday while I was cleaning out my computer (holy shit! Has anyone else recently cleaned out their computer? Those things get **Nasty **when you have pets) so I had to get a new one and... yeah._

_On the bright side, I have halfassed pictures of Nao and Mia on my deviantart. **Links are in profile** as always, or under Charredblossom16's gallery on Deviantart. Some people mentioned wanting a reference for them, so there they are._

_Sorry they're in such horrendous quality. But my SAI also went lolnope for a while. I can have it fixed soon, though, so yay._

_**Answer: **... In class, there was this one kid who NEVER. SHUTS. UP. and is by far the most idiotic boy I know... and he *chooses* to be idiotic. Anyway, I got stuck with him on a project and the little brat made me do all the work, and in the end when he *did* bother to work on the project, actually fucking DELETED THE ENTIRE THING FROM THE COMPUTER. _

_Oooooooh I was fuuuurious. Had to stay up all night, literally, no sleep that night, to turn in the project because of course he deletes the day BEFORE it's due._

_Fucking bastard._

_**Question: **The most awkward situation you've ever been in?_

**_Preview:_ **

Four years later, a stupid exam, an eventful night and finally… we had graduated.

_Reviews are **love**!_


	8. Arc II - Graduation

**_Disclaimer: _**_Sorry, don't own Naruto. If I did, everyone's OTP would have their own special episode / movie. _

**_Warning: _**_... Gawd, I don't know? Fluff? Barely a fight scene?_

**_Beta: _**_Kalafina94_

* * *

Four years later, a stupid exam, an eventful night, and finally… we had graduated.

Right after school, I was pulled away from my friends to celebrate with my family. Naruto had failed the exam and was rather depressed, so I was even more reluctant to celebrate with them, especially considering how Shikamaru and Chōji had families like myself, but _they_ did not. But Sasuke and Naruto both assured me they would be fine.

Still, I had only stayed for dinner before leaving in a rush to check on them. Naruto had gone out and Sasuke was waiting at home. Chōji and Shikamaru, as well as Tenten, arrived soon after myself. With their help, I made a batch load of Naruto's favorite deserts in hopes of cheering him up. However, much to our surprise, Naruto came home bearing a Konoha _hitai-ate_ and was most excited.

It was a pleasant surprise, though.

And so, all of us sat together in our usual seats at the front row. Naruto to my left, Sasuke to my right and I in the middle with Shikamaru and Chōji behind us.

It was amazing, really, how no one questioned my friendship with Sasuke. Well, except for Ino.

It was inevitable, I supposed, that my sister would find out about my frequent visits with Sasuke.

I still remember the look on her face when she discovered the truth—it didn't really matter how she figured it out; what mattered was her reaction and my own reaction. It was a terrifying moment for me. I loved my sister; I loved my sister dearly and the utter shock on her face was enough to send my heart pounding and guilt and self-disgust rising up...

_I felt horrible. I had only been thinking in Sasuke's best interest, in what he needed. In the process, I disregarded my own sister's wants._

_"I…" I trailed off, unsure of what to do, what to say._

_"Nao-chan…" Ino said softly, her eyes trailing down. "… He's the friend? Sasuke-kun's the friend you've been staying with, helping?"_

_"I'm sorry," I whispered, my eyes stinging and my fingers clutched tightly at the edges of my hoodie. "I'm so sorry, Nee-chan."_

_"Do you love him?"_

_I froze, looking up sharply at my sister and allowing feelings of revulsion to show on my face. "No. Sasuke-kun… He's just a friend, Nee-chan. He's… he's family."_

_Ino eyed me another moment before she sighed, nodding her head tiredly. "I believe you. I… I already lost Sakura to him. I don't…"_

_I hesitated a moment before I moved towards her, wrapping my arms around her waist and burying my head into her chest. "No. You won't. Not ever. I will always be your little sister and I won't ever let anyone take that away from me, away from us."_

_"… So why didn't you…?"_

_Feeling tired of lying to my own sister, I decided to go with brutal honesty. "… He didn't need… he didn't need to be admired or idolized. He didn't… he needed people who would treat him as himself, not someone to be admired… he needed… normalacy. I was… I didn't think…"_

_"… I don't like it. I really, really don't like it… But if it was in Sasuke-kun's best interest… and I can see how much it pained you to keep it a secret… and I don't… I don't want to lose you… I can live with it," Ino murmured softly into my hair._

_"You don't want to see him, do you, Nee-chan?"_

_"Not through you," Ino laughed quietly. "I'll earn Sasuke-kun's attention on my own, thank you very much."_

_I smiled. "… Thank you, Nee-chan."_

I gave an inward wince upon hearing Ino and Sakura's screech for first place into the classroom.

Naruto snickered under his breath. "Can't believe _you're _related to _her_."

"Can't believe _you_ actually liked pinky," I retorted, causing Naruto to wince. The moment Naruto confessed his crush to Sakura, I demanded to know why. As far as I was concerned, that girl would forever remain as _the girl who made my sister cry_. It felt like a sort of betrayal that Naruto would suddenly like her. But I amended that, as Naruto was also my dear friend, if Sakura somehow made him happy, I would let it slide.

When he was unable to give an answer _aside _from 'I just do!', I declared him an idiot and sulked for a good half hour. When Naruto questioned my mood, I explained to him how I felt and that it just seemed wrong to just like someone for superficial reasons. Which was the reasons I had assumed Naruto for liking Sakura.

He didn't want me to be unhappy, so he backed off. But I told him I would be fine with their relationship _if_ he could give me a good reason to like her for _herself_. Not superficial reasons like 'she's pretty', 'she's smart', 'she has nice hair', etcetera, etcetera.

When he didn't succeed at first, instead of trying and trying again, Sasuke and Shikamaru knocked some sense into him, saying she was too young to be taking relationships seriously and was just a silly fan girl. Instead, Naruto should wait until after graduation for her to mature enough to take him seriously.

Naruto relented with great reluctance. I think it might have mainly been because Sasuke and Shikamaru threatened to burn all his ramen if he didn't back down.

He was silly like that.

But for the moment, Naruto did not crush on anyway, though he still intended to give Sakura a chance.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura cooed, rushing over to us with Ino right in tow.

"Hey, who do you think you're talking to, Billboard Brow?" Ino demanded, shoving Sakura aside. "Hi, Sasuke-kun!"

"You're one to talk!" yet another one of Sasuke's fan girls called out, moving up from her seat to try and talk to Sasuke… again.

Sasuke kept an indifferent face, but having lived with him so long I could tell by the way his right eyebrow twitched ever so slightly that he was beyond annoyed.

I nudged Naruto and pointed to the eyebrow. Naruto cackled, but I shushed him quickly when Sasuke shot us a dirty look. Though I wasn't able to keep in my small giggle.

Iruka stepped into the room. "That's enough girls, take your seats…"

"But Sasuke isn't standing up, sensei," Naruto said.

I laughed at this and Sasuke rolled his eyes slightly. "You must have me confused with yourself, Dobe. Aren't you the one who came up with the gender-bender jutsu?"

I laughed again, smiling widely as Naruto huffed and puffed, but simply couldn't blow Sasuke down. The fan girls all around us, cheered for Sasuke's retort.

"Settle down, class," Iruka said, though a little more exasperated this time. "It's time we called out for teams. Alright? Team One…"

Naruto nudged me with his foot as names were droned off. I gave a small yawn, stretching back into my seat.

"… Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto, Yamanaka Inonao, Uchiha Sasuke…"

"Hell yes!" Naruto shouted, jumping out of his seat and fist pumping. I was smiling widely and even Sasuke allowed himself to smile—okay, _smirk_—in public. "Watch out world, the best team has just been born!"

I laughed/giggled, my body and voice too high to properly laugh, but I was determined to try it anyway so it came out as a cross between the two. Sasuke snorted. "Idiot in front, down."

"Kiba's not up here," Naruto said, wide-eyed and innocently.

"Hey!" Kiba shouted from the back while Shikamaru and Chōji snickered.

Naruto laughed at this, but plopped into his seat, still baring a grin.

Not once did my own grin drop for the remainder of class.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"He's late," Naruto said.

Indeed he was. Our sensei who should have been here _hours_ ago was running behind. Or ditching us. I couldn't tell at the moment. But either way, I was incredibly displeased. I did not like to be kept waiting. I was not a patient person and I detested unpunctuality. I was the sole reason Naruto was never late to class for the last four years. I would _not_ tolerate it.

So while Naruto set up his prank, Sasuke and I sat side by side and allowed him to do it without reprimanding him. We were both growing irritated. Even if neither of us really thought it would work, it certainly wouldn't hurt to try.

Naruto leaned back, grinning hugely at his work.

It was at that moment, the door opened and in stepped in a very familiar man.

My mouth dropped open as the eraser fell down. Naruto burst into laughter, but my eyes were wide with shock. Kakashi looked at us, staring at us indifferently until his single showing eye rested on me.

"Kakashi!" I shouted happily, lurching off from my spot and colliding into him with a hug.

"Oof," Kakashi grunted. "Nao-chan? I have _you_ as a student?"

"Nao, do you know him?" Sasuke asked me, giving me a small frown.

"Oh, yeah, Sasuke-kun. I thought I told you about him. Guess you don't remember," I said with a small tilt of my head.

Kakashi seemed to be frowning. "So _these_ are your friends?"

Naruto grinned, still giddy from his successful prank. "Yep!"

"Hm," Kakashi said. "Well, my first impression of you two is… I hate you."

I giggled at seeing both of their expressions.

"Well then," Kakashi continued, completely unminding the two boys, "let's continue this on the roof, shall we?"

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Alright, so first, let's introduce ourselves," Kakashi said.

"Why don't you go first, Sensei, that way we'll know what to do and stuff," Naruto suggested.

"Alright," Kakashi said. "I'm Hatake Kakashi… Things I like and things I hate… I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future… As for my hobbies…"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Okay. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, I like ramen in an instant cup, but Nao-chan doesn't let me have a whole bunch 'cause she tries to make me eat _healthy_. I like Nao-chan, Shika, and Chō. I like Jiji and at times, Teme is _okay_. Iruka-sensei is pretty cool, too. I don't dislike a lot of things, but I _hate_ vegetables and, most of the time, Teme. My hobby is helping Nao-chan with the garden and my dream is to become the Hokage, believe it!"

I smiled at him happily and Sasuke rolled his eyes. Kakashi merely watched him with a single eye. Though to most at first glance, it would seem indifferent or caring. But I had seen that eye many times when ANBU members approached Kakashi and asked for advice at the memorial stone. It was an assessing eye. Critical and precise.

Kakashi then turned to me. I frowned. "But everyone here knows me."

"Aw, come on Nao-chan, do it in the spirit of things."

"But everyone already knows me," I said again, failing to see the point in wasting our time with information they already knew.

When Kakashi continued to stare at me, I sighed in defeat. His eye crinkled in satisfaction.

"I'm Yamanaka Inonao, but I go by Nao. I like a lot of things and because Kakashi didn't say a lot and everyone already knows me, that's all I'm saying," I said stubbornly, folding my arms across my chest.

"But you already know about me," Kakashi said. "I didn't feel the need to elaborate any further.

"Exactly," I said.

"Uchiha Sasuke," Sasuke said when it was clear I wasn't going to add anything more. "I like few things, mostly training... Shikamaru is alright, so is Chōji. Nao is fine and, _sometimes,_ so is Dobe. I dislike a lot of things, mostly Dobe. My hobbies are none of your concern. My goal is to find the truth and to take vengeance for my Clan."

I tilted my head. "Now what?"

"Now?" Kakashi asked, cocking his head. "Now it's time I explain something to you about how to _really_ graduate to becoming a Genin…"

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

The next morning, I forced everyone to eat their breakfast, explaining to them that Kakashi was just being silly. The three of us then walked down to the training grounds… and waited.

Three hours later, I nudged Naruto awake, who had fallen asleep on the ground, after Sasuke nudged me awake, as I had fallen asleep on his shoulder. We all blinked up groggily as Kakashi entered the sunny clearing.

"Good morning, my precious students," Kakashi said cheerfully.

I yawned, stretching as I stood up. "Good morning, Kakashi-... _sensei_… it's weird calling you sensei."

"It's weird having you as a student."

I rubbed the sleep out of my eye. Naruto stood up and yawned tiredly. "You're late."

Sasuke snorted. "That's an understatement, Dobe."

Naruto shot Sasuke a dirty look, but didn't bother adding anything more.

"Well then, are you ready for your test?" Kakashi asked us, as he pulled out a sleek gray clock. He placed the clock on a wooden stump a little ways from us before pulling out two silver bells. "Your test is simple. Retrieve the bells from me. You will have until noon to do this or all of you will fail."

"But there's only two bells," Naruto asked, frowning at this.

"That's because only two of you will pass," Kakashi said.

We all exchanged a glance, none of us impressed with that statement. If there was one thing Shikamaru managed to drill into us, it was to work smarter, not harder. A concept that came relatively easy for Sasuke, and myself, and with time, Naruto. To think over orders given to you, read between the lines, and find a solution that benefited yourself.

"That's not true," I said. "You can't pass only two people. Genin teams are made up of _three_ people. I should know, Papa drilled _that_ into me and Nee-chan. More than likely this is a test to try and have us fight each other over the bells."

"And waste what little time we have and fight each other," Sasuke added.

"That's stupid," Naruto decided.

Kakashi cocked his head. "Only two people will pass this test. Whoever passes this test for the other teams will also count. We pool everyone together and _then_ we make groups of three."

I frowned. "Oh…"

The three of us exchanged looks.

"You guys should get the bell," I said. "I'll help you."

"Don't be stupid, Nao-chan," Naruto said. "If anyone is going to pass, it should be you and Teme. Even if Teme is an asshole."

Sasuke snorted. "Whatever. You two can take the bells. I don't need them."

My brow furrowed. "No. _You_ two take the bells."

"No, _you_."

"Idiots. No."

"Come on, guys, just take the stupid bells!"

"Nao-chan, Teme, quick being so stupid and take the bells."

"I don't need them. _You_ take them."

Kakashi cleared his throat. "Are you really arguing _who_ takes the bells? And not in the normal way, might I add."

Naruto huffed. "Look here, old man—"

"Old man?"

"—we're all friends here," Naruto went on, unabashed. "We stick together through and through. I'm not just gonna sit still and watch as one of my friends fail and _I_ succeed. 'Ts not right."

I nodded my head, feeling particularly brave as I moved a step forward. "Me, too. I feel the same."

Sasuke snorted quietly, but moved to stand a little closer to us.

"So either we _all_ pass or we all fail," Naruto said firmly.

Kakashi blinked at us. "… Okay. How about I cut you a deal? If _one_ of you can take a _single_ bell from before the time is up, you call can pass. If you can't, you all fail."

"Deal," Sasuke decided for us.

The three of us then poured chakra into our feet and leapt back, out of earshot of Kakashi. Naruto moved to stand behind Sasuke and I as the two of us turned our back to Kakashi. Naruto watched Kakashi, as Sasuke and I spoke in hushed tones. Quiet enough for Kakashi not to hear, but loud of enough for Naruto to hear.

"Kakashi-sensei is a Jōnin, and an ex-ANBU Captain," I whispered quietly. "Getting a bell would normally be difficult. He's strong. He's fast. He's cunning."

"Normally?" Sasuke questioned, just as quiet. "I take it you have a plan?"

I nodded my head. "It's just a thought, really. I've never practiced it on a moving target, you know. Especially not one that would fight back. Or one so big."

"You mean _that_ jutsu?" Naruto whispered, not even glancing back at us.

"How long can you hold it?" Sasuke asked.

I hesitated. "Five seconds maximum. More likely three seconds."

"That doesn't give us a lot of time," Sasuke muttered. "We'd have to be in close already. But it's our best shot to get a bell within the short time period. Alright. Naruto, you serve as the distraction, I'll—"

"He's gone," Naruto said loudly, quickly turning around and inspecting the area.

Both Sasuke and I straightened up, turning our backs to each other and Naruto. The three of us formed a sort of tight circle, our eyes darting around.

"Did he use any handseals?" I asked Naruto.

Naruto frowned. "No. Just disappeared in a puff of smoke…"

"Annoying. Tch," Sasuke grumbled irritably.

Mild annoyance and dissatisfaction dwelled inside of me at this latest development, but it didn't last long. Kakashi reappeared above us, his hands working into some fast handseals. My eyes widened and I pushed Naruto out of the way, Sasuke jumping away on his own just as Kakashi finished.

But nothing happened. He gave a chuckled as he landed where we once stood.

He had faked us out.

"Naruto," Sasuke growled, already rushing forward.

"On it," Naruto shouted, his hands moving into the _ram_ seal. Multiple more Narutos appeared and they all rushed towards Kakashi with a battle cry. I hopped back, a little ways from them as Kakashi ducked and dodged each of them with ease. Sasuke took a moment and dove in close towards him, throwing in his own punch to the attack.

I let out a slow breath, pushing my chakra out along with it. My chakra slithered into the air, moving slowly towards Kakashi. To any other eye-save the Byakugan and probably the Sharigan-my chakra would be transparent, invisible. My brow furrowed in concentration and I had to switch my breath to deeper ones. Already I could feel the strain of molding my chakra in such a manner.

My mind locked onto Kakashi and I had him ensnared. Immediately his body froze and Naruto delivered a successful kick against his thigh. Kakashi gave a grunt, though his eye was still widened in surprise.

Sasuke took this moment to dive forward towards the bell.

The surprise was over and Kakashi struggled against the small outline of my chakra around him. I gave an inward whimper at the sheer force he exerted against my mind. A throbbing pain overcame my head and it was too much; I released my hold on him and fell to the ground, breathing heavily.

Wearily, I looked up to find Sasuke grinning triumphantly, okay, _smirking_ triumphantly, at Kakashi. Naruto whooped with excitement as his clones dispelled and cheered loudly. Kakashi shook his head, looking over at me. In a flicker of movement, he appeared in front of me.

"Interesting technique. I assume it's a kekkai genkai?" Kakashi commented, as Sasuke and Naruto moved over to us.

I nodded my head tiredly.

When Naruto reached us, he offered me a hand. I took it with a quiet thank you and he lifted me up, though my legs were still shaky.

"So this means we pass," Sasuke said, still smirking.

"So it would seem," Kakashi mused. "I never would have guessed Nao-chan had such an ability."

"Not many do," Naruto boasted on my behalf.

"Now that we've passed," I said, my strength slowly returning, "why don't... we all have lunch at home? Kakashi-sensei, you're... welcome to join us."

Kakashi cocked his head. "Mn. Maa, alright. I could eat."

Naruto grinned. "Alright! Teme, it's your turn to do dishes tonight."

"Hn."

I giggled at that, finding myself smiling brightly for a moment before my smile faltered. I had lucked out. I adored my team.

So why did I feel such a strong sense of sorrow, looking at how happy we were now?

* * *

_Chill my Sakura fans. Just because she isn't on Team 7, doesn't mean she won't be in the story. She will be occurring again, but it will take a while._

_I have fanarts of Nao, link on profile or under Kira-Tsume's, or Cambadia's gallery on Deviantart, or Charredblossom16's favorites. I also have more fanart of Sakura, link on profile or under Kaiwii-chan's gallery on Deviantart or Charredblossom16's favorites._

_I feel so honored to have so much fanart for my stories. Seriously. I love you guys. _

_I love my reviewers/favoriters/alerters as well._

_But seriously. I love you all. So. Much._

_Anyway, to clarify Nao is **three** **years**_ _younger than Ino. So when they're twelve, she's nine. When they're sixteen, she's thirteen, etc, etc. _

**_Answer: _**_Most awkward moment... Oooo... Chatting online with my crush, and my ex (who remained as a friend), along with a few others. Sent ilikelikeyou to ex, when it was meant for the crush. Horribly awkward explaining that one. _

**_Question: _**_What's your viewpoint on something? Anything? Just tell me what you feel passionate about. _

**_Preview:_ ** How did I die?

_And to answer a previous question, yes, I really do read everyone's review and everyone's answer. :) _

_Next chapter will be longer, promise._

_Reviews are **love**!_


	9. Arc II - Zabuza

_**Disclaimer: **Kishimoto won't give Naruto to me for my birthday. Damn._

_**Warning: **Fights... fluff? _

_**Beta: **Kalafina94_

* * *

"This is so stupid!"

For once, I had to agree with Naruto.

After a _month_ of stupid D-Rank missions, Naruto finally broke and pleaded with the Hokage in receiving a better mission. The Hokage had relented, and thus we were given an escort mission for a _drunk_ to his home, and to protect him while he finished a bridge.

The mission itself wasn't so bad; it was the _moronic sexist pig_ we had to guard for it. At first glance, he sneered at all of us and commented, "Are you really going to let a bunch of _brats_ protect me? They look so stupid. Never mind the scrawny little damsel."

Damsel. Like damsel in distress. As if that ever applied to _me_. I might not have Naruto's insane chakra levels or battle instinct like Sasuke or intelligence like Shikamaru, but damn it—

Well. To say I was most displeased would have been an understatement. The only pleasure I took in that afternoon was the fact that both Naruto and Sasuke looked ready to kill the fool as well. Naruto actually had to be restrained by Kakashi more than once.

Afterwards, we were dismissed to pack our things and meet Kakashi and the old man at the front gate. We returned home, packed our things and were currently on our way.

"Sexist pig," I muttered under my breath, still bristling from the insult. Perhaps I was taking it so offensively because of my sister. As much as I am at loathe to point out a fault in her, she was very much a damsel in distress. Longing for a prince to save her, namely a prince by the name of Sasuke, but I didn't resent _her_ for it. She was my sister with a... more... _romantic _mind. My mental maturity was more developed and pragmatic and thus had long since moved past such silly fantasies. It was understandable that she still clung to her childhood dreams, as I would undoubtedly be doing the same if I were her.

However that did _not_ mean _I _would tolerate such things in myself.

"Let's just get this mission over with," Sasuke said. "Once we've completed our first C-Rank mission, we'll be able to do more. They can't all be this bad."

"Teme has a point," Naruto agreed, though with a bit of reluctance in his voice. "Let's just get this over with."

The three of us had reached the gate, Kakashi already there with Tazuna.

I scowled at him openly, huffing slightly.

Tazuna snorted. "Can't believe a bunch of brats are protecting me."

"Why should it matter?" Sasuke asked thinly.

Tazuna bristled and Kakashi opened the palm of his hands in a peace-like gesture. "Maa. Now, now. Let's just get on our way then, shall we?"

"Come on, Imouto," Naruto said, already turning away with a huff and marching on.

"Dobe, it's the other way," Sasuke muttered.

Not even faltering in his steps, Naruto turned directions and marched on.

I had to smile at that.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

We had walked quite a ways in silence, moving in perfect synch with Tazuna in the center. My resentment towards Tazuna had faded into mild irritation and eventually into apathy. With my anger gone, I was left to muse through my thoughts, shifting through whatever I could think of to try and entertain myself.

Nearly towards our destination, a strange thing happened.

The strongest sense of déjà vu washed over me. I blinked my eyes rapidly at the strong sense of familiarity for the situation. Casually, my eyes glanced around, scanning for what could have possibly triggered such emotion.

My eyes landed on a puddle.

A single puddle.

I blinked at it, my brow furrowing. Nonchalantly, I moved towards Kakashi, reaching forward and grabbing his hand. Not even stopping, his eyes slid towards me. My eyes slid towards the puddle and he followed my gaze. He winked at me, his gaze moving towards Tazuna.

I caught on.

The best thing to do in a situation like this was to allow the trap to spring itself and deal with it. This way we could discern who the trap was set for. For a C-Rank mission, we would have only had to deal with weak bandits and worthless shinobi. A technique used to disguise the user as a puddle required at least Chūnin level, if only a bit lower. Tazuna had paid for a C-Rank and as such, it would bring into question why a Chūnin would attack him.

_If_ they were to attack him. They very well could have been sent from an enemy village to fight against one of us. Perhaps to take out the last Uchiha or the famed Kakashi of the Sharingan? Perhaps they were interested in the bounty Kakashi carried? The possibilities were immense.

But if they were out to get us, it would then beg the question of how they knew where we were going and…?

Ever still. The best thing to do in a situation like this would be to allow the trap to spring itself.

And spring itself it did.

The moment we had our backs turned to it, my sixth sense tingled with fear and I lurched away from Kakashi towards Tazuna. Chains, sharp and jagged, wrapped around Kakashi and, in a flash, pulled.

Kakashi was supposedly ripped into shreds.

Inwardly, I frowned at this. That couldn't be right. No chain would be able to rip Kakashi so cleanly. Perhaps finely pointed wire, but even then it would have to taken quite a force to rip his back bone so neatly like that. For chains to rip him, at least one of the chunk had to have the majority of his spine sticking out of it.

I chilled, realizing my line of thoughts; so eerily calm.

Perhaps I was calm because I knew Kakashi would be able to save us, worse comes to worse. More than likely, this was the case; after all they were only Chūnin and I knew full well Kakashi was an elite ex-ANBU. That and there was that... _gut instinct_... again. I really had no other way to describe it. But the same instinct that made me question Sasuke, all those years ago, resurfaced itself the moment I felt familiar with the situation. It warned me to be wary of the puddle, but also that I shouldn't be worried, either. That somehow, I _knew_ Kakashi would be alright and that we would be alright.

Before I could continue my line of thoughts, however, one of them rushed towards me.

I let out a slow breath, side stepping as he swung out a clawed hand towards me. Using the force of his punch, I twisted and threw him over my shoulder onto the ground. Continuing to move forward, I bunched up my hand into a fist and slammed it into his throat.

It was a low-level Chūnin, then, I judged from how easy it was to out maneuver him. I was by no means a taijutsu master and should have easily been outmatched.

I doubted this person was even a Chūnin. Though he looked older, he really couldn't have been more than a Genin, right?

I straightened up, preparing to assist my friends when I heard a splash.

I whirled back around, my eyes widening to see that it was a water clone.

Of course. Nothing was ever that easy.

Before I could move another muscle, I felt chills run down my spine. My eyes snapped back, head turning to find the supposedly _real_ Chūnin rushing towards me. But before he could lay a finger on me, Kakashi appeared before me, his arm jutting out and hitting his throat.

The Chūnin gagged and sagged, immediately passing out or dying. I wasn't sure which.

I swallowed roughly and turned back to see Naruto and Sasuke had defeated the other one.

"Nao-chan," Kakashi said pleasantly, "never let your guard down. Even if the opponent seems defeated."

I bowed my head, accepting the critique. "My mistake, sorry."

Kakashi cocked his head. "This was your first real battle; it's understandable. But ignorance has led many shinobi and kunoichi to their deaths."

I kept my head bowed for another moment, once again taking the critique before I raised it and blinked owlishly up at him.

"Naruto-kun, Sasuke-kun, well done," Kakashi amended. "But both of you were focused on the target, not on Tazuna who we were supposed to protect. What if there was a third attacker waiting for the ambush?"

"You would have got 'em," Naruto dismissed.

Kakashi tilted his head.

"Kakashi-sensei, did you see who they were targeting?" I asked him, blinking up at him curiously.

Kakashi gave me a crinkled eye smile, lifting his hand to pat my head. "That I did. Tazuna. It would seem we need to have a conversation…"

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

A B-Ranked mission now. Lovely. First Tazuna was a sexist pig, now he's a _lying_ sexist pig. But all the while he was telling his story, I couldn't shake the strongest sense of déjà vu. But nothing really came to me. It was… on the tip of my tongue. There, so close, but not quite over the edge.

It was driving me insane.

All the while, we finished our walk, crossed the boat, and walked a bit further into the island, I couldn't seem to figure it out. Just _what_ was my mind trying to tell me?

I was so lost in my musings, Kakashi had to roughly grab me and force me to ground, just in time for a giant sword to swing over our heads and land against a tree. I blinked, both from shock and embarrassment, that I had become so dense I didn't even hear Kakashi's warning.

Kakashi's hand left my shoulders as he stood up. I moved with him, staring up in curiosity at a strange (familiar) man standing atop an even stranger (familiar) sword.

"Hatake Kakashi," the man drawled, his voice low and gravely. "I don't believe we've met face to face. Won't this be fun?"

"Momoichi Zabuza," Kakashi said, his eye narrowing. "What are you doing here?"

"I think you know the answer to that, Kakashi of the Sharingan," Zabuza taunted. "Hand over the old geezer and I might spare you and your pathetic brats."

"Who're you calling brats, you shirtless freak?" Naruto shouted, glowering darkly.

"Shut up, Dobe," Sasuke snapped.

Zabuza's eyes narrowed into annoyed slits.

"I'm afraid I can't just do that," Kakashi replied evenly, his hand moving up and pushing his _hitai-ate_ up with it. His Sharingan blazed fully, staring at Zabuza. Not taking his eyes off of Zabuza, he said, "Formation B, everyone."

Immediately, the three of us rushed towards Tazuna, each placing our backs against each other with Tazuna in the center.

"You'll regret this," Zabuza laughed just as an eerie mist settled in over us.

I shivered, swallowing roughly. In a matter of seconds, the mist descended upon us, Zabuza was gone from my sight. Barely, I could make out the figure of Kakashi, who stood in front of us, tense and ready; only barely.

I shivered once more, and my stomach knotted. A sharp wave of killer intent seemed to roll within the fog. Never before had I felt such hostility, such cruelty and such _bloodlust_. No, even then that wasn't quite right. I'm not quite sure _how_ describe it. Only that it was there, and it pressed down hard on me. My hands shook and fought down the chilling fear that crawled up and down my spine. The killer intent rolled through the fog, pressing down on me, suffocating me. I tried to move, to speak, to rationalize any of my thoughts, but was incapable of doing so.

I was petrified.

My bottom lip quivered involuntarily.

"Calm down," Kakashi's sharp voice broke me out of my trance, pulling my eyes towards him. "I will protect you with my life. I will _not_ allow my comrades to die… trust me."

At his words, I felt a small sense of confidence swell in the pit of my stomach. He wouldn't. Kakashi was strong—ANBU strong—he _could_ protect us and he _would_. His sureity of the situation was calming in a way. I was nowhere near relaxed, but my thoughts were lucid. More coherent.

My hands no longer quivered. I clenched them tightly into fists.

I could do this. I had to.

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Zabuza's voice, right behind us. So slick and smooth and calm. A cold shiver danced down my spine. My head snapped back and already my body was twisting away, acting on instinct alone. To step back and _away_ from the danger. But as I moved—along with Sasuke and Naruto—so, too, did Zabuza. His sword lifted up in a single movement, intent on finishing us all off in a single fell swoop.

In almost slow motion, the sword arched towards us, and we were helpless to stop it. _I_ was helpless to stop it.

Then Kakashi was there.

Moving too quick for my eyes to have followed him, he appeared right before the blade, stopping it with his single kunai. I landed lightly a little ways from them, my mind reeling. They were at a perfect standstill—a moment of shock on their face for both opponents.

But I had to use this shock.

My hands shook slightly and I willed my chakra to push out of my body, forcing it towards Zabuza. In a split second, my chakra had outlined him and I held on tightly to him.

Zabuza's eyes widened a fraction and he struggled against my hold, now realizing he was incapitated.

I sucked in a sharp breath, sweat dotting my brow as he fought. A sharp pain jarred through my senses, intensifying in my head. He was so strong. Such a powerhouse…

My hands shook violently as he thrashed against the hold, but still unmoved. Kakashi's eyes snapped towards me before locking back to Zabuza's. He had realized what had happened. His kunai dug against the blade and pushed it away—not out of Zabuza's iron locked grip.

His free hand grabbed Zabuza's upper arm of the same arm he held his sword in. With his kunai hand, he slid his kunai alongside of the sword before he dug it up to the hilt into Zabuza's elbow.

A howl of pain left Zabuza and he struggled more violently against me. The pain was _unbearable; _it was burning and bright and my vision dotted and for a moment, I thought I couldn't move-couldn't _breathe_ and then-

My control slowly slipped and I gave a sort of sharp breath and small whine as it did. But Kakashi didn't stop; he dragged his kunai right up to his hand, slicing Zabuza's arm wide open. Even through the fog I could make out the dark liquid that spilled out of it.

All of this had transpired in a matter of seconds.

Shaking violently from the sheer concentration that was required of me and from the slight adrenaline rush, my knees gave out and hit the ground just as I lost all of my control. Zabuza's sword slipped from his grasp, falling to the ground with a thud. In a violent rage, Zabuza swung out his other hand towards Kakashi. Kakashi leapt back and away from Zabuza, landing beside me.

I tried to calm my breath and blink away the dots in my vision.

"You _bastard_," Zabuza snarled at Kakashi. "Now which one of you has the Kekkei Genkei?"

"You don't need to worry about that," Kakashi said smoothly. "Your opponent is with me."

Zabuza seemed to be giving a feral-like grin. "We'll see."

With a lone arm dangling uselessly at his side, Zabuza bent down and picked up his sword with his _non_ useless hand. He swung it around experimentally.

"You won't be able to last long," Kakashi said, a mocking edge to his voice. "You're bleeding heavily and fighting us with only push the blood out of your system faster. I'd say you have about five minutes before you pass out. Ten minutes until you die."

Zabuza scoffed. "I won't need nearly that long to take care of a couple of brats."

"But you will need that and much more to take care of _me_," Kakashi said, switching his stance to a more offensive position.

Zabuza lunged forward, kicking up into the air and swinging his sword high above him. Kakashi leapt up into the air, clashing his kunai against Zabuza's sword. The two slid off and away and Kakashi and Zabuza were forced to land a little ways from each other.

Kakashi slid across the ground from the force of the attack, his eyes never leaving Zabuza.

My breath was still shallow, but easier to manage and I shakily stood up, inching closer to Sasuke, Naruto and Tazuna.

Zabuza's eyes caught my movement and he swung them towards my friends.

My eyes widened upon seeing that malicious gleam in his eyes and he rushed towards us, too quickly for even Kakashi to reach us in time. Pure fear and adrenaline coursed through as I saw his course of direction. To the nearest one of us.

To Sasuke.

And then all I could see was that little boy (_a little boy_) crying for his family and over his brother. I could only see that dear friend I had practically grown up with and accepted to as family. _My_ family.

(_My_ little boy)

My body moved almost robotically, no thoughts, but (familiar) frantic panic and fear. I slammed into Sasuke, twisting us so my back was turned to Zabuza and between the two of them. I pushed Sasuke away from just as blinding pain raced from my right shoulder blade, dancing along my arm like white hot needles.

And suddenly, I was flying. Soaring through the air (_free, free_, falling again, again).

I crashed into a tree, hitting the tip of my brow and slamming against it as the air left in one fell _whoosh_.

Head spinning and ears ringing, I could make out Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi's concerned voice.

I slumped against the tree, my sight doubling as blackness edged around it.

I struggled to breathe, to suck in the air that had so cruelly left me, just barely able to find it in time. My shock left me in a harsh rush and I could so clearly feel the pain in my shoulder and arm, the pounding of my head. I had to shut my eye as blood pooled around it from my more than likely bleeding brow.

I twisted my body, forcing myself to move and see what was going on. Dizzy and disoriented, I could only vaguely make out the fast blur of shapes and assumed they were Kakashi and Zabuza.

Naruto had come to me, kneeling beside me and asking rapid questions. I couldn't concentrate though. He was talking too fast.

"Slow d-down," I murmured.

Naruto gave me a sheepish smile before wincing. "Sorry. I just…"

"I know," I whispered. "Wh-who's winning?"

Naruto looked back, just to see as Tazuna and Sasuke headed towards his. His brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed. "I think… Kakashi."

A moment passed.

"Oh hey… Zabuza just slumped against a tree. Something happened," Naruto whispered.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "There's another person there. They're… taking Zabuza away."

"Fight over?" I asked tiredly.

"Fight's over," Sasuke answered me.

"Good," I mumbled before promptly passing out.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Upon coming to, the thing that I had been pondering before Zabuza presented himself, finally came to me. Mostly in blurred images, scattered facts and delirious battles that had not occurred. But nonetheless, it came to me.

Well. Not all of it. Just a mere distant fact...

This had happened before, in what I am coming to realize, an alternate world. A world where I was never born in.

The thought line seemed incredibly familiar, as if I knew and understood this before, but for the life of me, I could not recall, ever having such knowledge. I had only ever been in this world, have I not? But on the other hand, it would explain my knowledge and ability to keep a more mature outlook on things. If I had indeed not originated from this world, what happened to me in my past life?

How did I die?

A question that would require much speculation later on, at a more convient time. For now, I had the issue of Zabuza and Ha… Haw… Hue… Hah… Ha… que… Ha… lu… Ha… _ku_. Haku to deal with. From what I could recall Naruto and the others had admiration for the two, for whatever reason and regretted their deaths. I have no reason for such regrets, but if it would further prevent damage to my close ones, I would be inclined to prevent their deaths.

From what I could gather, they were betrayed by a man named _Gato_. They were hired by him to eliminate the bridge builder when in fact Gato never bothered to pay them or intended to. This lead to Zabuza attacking and killing Gato. From this, I could safely conclude that if Zabuza and Haku knew of Gato's original intentions they would not bother attacking us.

More than likely they would simply kill Gato—which would also solve the Wave's problem—and… and I'm not sure what they would do.

I would have to ponder that further.

If I could. The way I had my memories set up, I would imagine I would forget everything once again soon enough.

But one thing remained a fact; if Zabuza and Haku were informed of Gato's treachery, they would not attack us. Which, in my book, seemed like a very good thing. Even if their seemed to be some significance to their attack, it did not concern me. My only priority was the safety of my family.

Oh… and the mission.

If the mission failed, I would not be paid and I am inclined to find that most dissatisfying.

Now the question then begged is how to contact Zabuza and Haku? Furthermore, what would I say to them…?

No, really, I suppose, the first question would be what to do with this knowledge? I felt like there was more to the story, that I knew _more, _but I could only recall things concerning Haku and Zabuza, and even then it was sketchy. No, that wasn't quite right. I recalled a memory of myself at a younger age _choosing_ to forget... to forget _something_. I remember that I had installed triggers of sorts that would react in certain ways... subconscious triggers that Ino and I were taught to implant at a young age, due to the nature of our family's Kekkei Genkei, before the mutation was found out.

The knowledge would fade. I had, perhaps, a handful of days as it was a much less frantic and strong memory. The more painful and strong my emotions are attached to a memory, the harder it would be to remember it, or well, _keep _it.

I stifled a yawn as I finally allowed myself to open my eyes, deciding to spend some other time to properly think these issues through. The first thing I noted was that I was no longer in a clearing. There was no mist or sky above me, but instead a wooden roof.

The second thing I noted is that someone had changed my clothes. No longer was I wearing my standard white and pale blue attire, instead I only wore my hoodie. Most people under these circumstances would more than likely feel embarrassed, but that would have been a waste. Kakashi had more than likely seen the female body before (not that I was really developed enough to be anything, but androgynous) and I highly doubted he thought of nothing more than dressing my wounds and seeing that nothing was infected.

Thirdly, I realized my wounds. My right arm was slung and wrapped tightly to my chest. My shoulder felt oddly loose and I realized with a sickening feeling that it had been dislocated. Someone must have popped it back into place. I could feel the wrappings of gauze around my forehead and frowned thoughtfully as I came to realize I was only seeing through my left eye.

My right eye was covered in a patch of sorts. More than likely, when I hit my head against the tree, blood and other nasty stuff had gotten in it. Kakashi must have cleaned the eye then wrapped it in a bandage to keep further infection until it was ready to face the world once again.

I was pleased to find that I was not suffering from chakra exhaustion; only my physical state seemed a little worse than wear.

I gave a yawn and slowly sat up with the use of my left arm, which I leaned heavily on.

Blinking tiredly, I surveyed my surroundings. I was in a small house, more than likely in Tazuna's house. Kakashi or one of the others must have carried me here.

Speaking of the others…

Naruto, I had noticed, was asleep at my feet, snoring quietly with a bit of drool hanging down from his mouth. Sasuke had taken up to leaning against the wall to my left, his eyes closed and his breathing deep and even.

I felt a small smile turn my lips up.

Carefully, I maneuvered my feet away from Naruto and shakily stood up, wincing at the blood rush and the harsh pounding in my head. I blinked rapidly to clear away the dizziness and wobbled for a bit as I waited for the pain to subside. When it did, I lightly stepped around Naruto and Sasuke and peeked down the hallway.

Light barely shone through the window, foggy and unclear, but sharp and bright. Dawn then. Sunset would have been warmer, duller. I suppose I must have slept through the rest of the day and night. Not too bad considering the head trauma, mental strain due to my mutation, and adrenaline rush.

I quietly stepped down the hallway, noticing Kakashi was already seated at a small table. His eye crinkled upon seeing me. "Glad to see you're awake."

"Glad to be awake," I told him honestly. "How long was I out?"

"Not long," Kakashi said. "The rest of the day and night."

I nodded my head, satisfied my guess had been accurate.

I moved and sat down next to him, yawning once more as the last of my grogginess slowly left me. "I take it no one was hurt?"

"No," Kakashi said. "Zabuza was suffering from major blood loss. Had the battle gone on any longer, he would have died. Shame he wasn't foolhardy enough to try; would have made my life a lot easier."

"I don't know," I mused. "Things have a way of working themselves out."

"Perhaps," Kakashi allowed, cocking his head. "It would seem the boys are up."

"Kakashi-sensei, she's gone! Nao-chan is—" Naruto stopped in his frantic yelling when he saw me sitting down. His face lit up and he grinned widely. "Hi."

"Hi," I said, amused.

Sasuke came into the room, yawning tiredly and rubbing his eyes. "'Bout time you woke up."

"Sorry," I said, not really meaning it.

Sasuke snorted as he moved to sit down across from us. "You should have been up, though. There was this really angsty brat."

"Kind of like you, Teme," Naruto said slyly, sitting down next to Sasuke.

"Don't be ridiculous," Sasuke said dismissively. "He's willing to lie down and let this Gato person walk all over him. I'm not submissive."

"Kinky," Naruto said.

I cocked my head in a confusing manner and Sasuke shot Naruto a withering glare. Kakashi placed both of his hands over my ears, only doubling my confusion. Naruto only laughed though, amused he had gotten a reaction out of his rival/best friend _and_ his teacher. Kakashi cleared his throat and I looked down at my hands, already finding them so much more fascinating than looking up at their faces, as I had the feeling that whatever was implied was _not_ appropriate.

"We've also already discussed that Zabuza is alive," Kakashi said. "This week we'll be preparing for him. Seeing how everyone is up and about, come and follow me and we can start on your training."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"You want us… to climb a tree?" Naruto asked, clearly skeptical of the training method.

"Not all of you," Kakashi said. "Only you and Sasuke. I have no doubt that Nao-chan has already gone through this training with her clan, am I correct?"

I nodded my head slowly. "For my Kekkei Genkei, perfect control is needed. I already know how to water walk, too, but I can't sustain it too long, and I can't even begin to try and do that as well as fight."

Kakashi nodded his head. "For this exercise, you two will be climbing a tree—with no hands."

"Just how do you expect us to do that?" Sasuke asked bluntly.

"Simple," Kakashi said, "just gather your chakra to your feet and walk up the tree."

"Oh, like that leaf exercise?" Naruto asked. "Where you have to use your chakra to make the leaf stick to you or something?"

"Close enough," Kakashi said.

"I sucked at that," Naruto grumbled.

"You sucked at everything," Sasuke pointed out.

"Nobody asked you."

"So," Kakashi said, unperturbed. "We need to do this exercise because—"

"Perfect chakra control is the basic necessity to every jutsu," Sasuke said with a roll of his eyes. "With it, in theory, any jutsu can be mastered. This exercise further pushes us to master the control as well as to push our chakra reserves to the limit."

"Well you seemed well informed," Kakashi sniffed.

Sasuke snorted and Naruto grinned.

"Even _I_ knew that," Naruto said. "Just 'cause I sucked at it doesn't mean I don't know anything about it. I just have… a… _lot_… of… chakra."

"Inhumanly so," Sasuke said. "I have a theory that Naruto was secretly replaced with some sort of chakra monster at birth."

Naruto stuck his tongue out, though he did stiffen slightly. After a heartbeat, he relaxed and gave an easy grin. "I have my own theory that Sasuke was replaced with some sort of emo-freak-crazy-girl-magnet."

"I am _not_ a crazy girl magnet," Sasuke said diligently.

Naruto gave Sasuke and incredulous look. "Really? So _none_ of your fan girls tried to drug you and—"

Kakashi cleared his throat while my cheeks flamed brightly in indignation my sister's part. She was _not_ crazy. Just... special. And a romantic... with a... flair for dramatics, that's all. Sasuke flushed, but did not bother denying Naruto's suggestion.

"Well," Kakashi said cheerily. "Since you two know what you're doing, Nao-chan and I will supervise, seeing how she can't practice her water walking with her arm in a sling… Unless she can swim with one arm… Can you?"

I frowned at his question. "No. Should I be able to?"

"I don't know," Kakashi said. "I can."

"So can I," Sasuke said.

"That's because you two are, like, prodigies," Naruto muttered.

"So is Nao-chan," Sasuke pointed out.

Naruto sniffed. "But she's a _normal_ prodigy. You two are like… _weird_ prodigies."

Sasuke and Kakashi blinked at this, unsure of how to respond.

I coughed. "So… Kakashi-sensei, do you want me to watch from the top of the tree or down here?"

"You can join me at the top," Kakashi said happily. "That's where all the cool people are at."

"What are you talking about? _I'm_ not there," Naruto said.

"That's because you aren't cool," Sasuke snorted. "But what _are_ you talking about, _I'm_ not up there; therefore it's clearly not cool."

Kakashi shook his head and I gave a sort of amused smile.

"Both of you are wrong," I told them. "It's cool because _Kakashi-sensei_ and _I_ are up there. It would be lame if either of you two joined us."

"What are you talking?" Naruto asked. "It would be a million times cooler with me up there."

"Don't be idiotic," Sasuke said before he paused. "Too late."

Naruto ignored him. "That's it. I'm getting up there if only to prove how much more cooler it would be if I was up there."

"As if," Sasuke dismissed. "I'll be reaching the top first to prove how much cooler it would be if it were _me_ up there."

"Oh you're so on, Teme!"

"It's already on, Dobe."

* * *

_My goal is to complete the Zabuza arc in two chapters. Lookn' good so far._

_So to clarify: Yes, Nao remembers. But she only remembers things pertaining to the Wave Arc, and even then her memory is a bit fuzzy. And the way she set up her triggers / suppressers in her mind, she'll forget what she knows about the Wave Arc within a week or so. _

_Ffff. No more finals for this year. Hell yes._

**_Answer: _**_What do I feel strongly about? My OTP(s). ;) That and... Copycats. I hate them. Seriously. So much. It's not cool. It's not funny. It's just... I really, really, REALLY hate it when someone steals your idea and claims it for their own. People who do that... just... not... cool. Thankfully my stories are safe so far, so it's all good. It's cool if you have a similar idea... just actually make it your own. As in, no stealing inside jokes, personality of main Oc, or reactions, etc... _

**_Question: _**_What food item best describes you?_

_Reviews are **love**!_

_I have more fanart! Thank you so much! Links are on profile so go check 'em out, or you can check out my (Charredblossom16)'s favorites, or Eldeweiss, Miyuusen, or Cambadia's gallery on Deviantart_

**_BTW... Nice surprise you may or may not know._**

_I have started a Canon One Shot series featuring this story and my other Self-Insert, Chipped Mask. The goal of the story is to flesh out character relationships or further elaborate on things or just in case I want to write some general stuff. It's titled **Fading Memories**_**. **

**So if you want more Nao stuff (or Mia), go check it out. :D That and whenever I fail to post on this story for one reason or another, I will post on _that_**** story**.


	10. Arc II - Haku

_**Disclaimer: **Only Nao is my own in this story._

**_Warning: _**_... Uh..._

**_Beta: _**_Kalafina94_

* * *

It took another two days before I ran into Haku. Naruto, it had seemed, had passed out from exhaustion (despite his _abnormal_ stamina) and awoken to Haku. The two had a conversation of which I only entered the scene at the end of it. After insisting Naruto headed back without me, I found myself standing before a politely smiling Haku.

"So," I said, deciding to go straight to the point. "How's Zabuza?"

Haku froze, though his smile did not slip. "I don't know what you mean."

"You do, but you won't admit it," I said. "That's okay. I wouldn't either. Let's just say I'm a mutual ally for you two. I know Gato hired you, but what you don't know is that he has no intentions of offering you payment. He's hoping we'll kill you and you'll kill us. You might want to pass that information along to your master or whatever."

Haku eyed me a moment, his smiling never wavering. "I assure you; I don't know what you're talking about."

"You do," I said again, "but that's beside the point. Look, if you don't believe me, just ask Gato to pay you half up front then the rest later. If he refuses, then you know I was right. Just pass it on, or whatever."

Haku inclined his head and I left, not really caring for an answer that I knew he wouldn't give.

Besides, I had bigger things to worry about not.

My memory... and my eye.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

**(Third Person POV)**

Haku was a little more than concerned at how the little girl had managed to discover his identity so quickly. More than that, he was a little more than worried at how she obtained the information. But if her information was correct, then it would prove most fruitful for him and Zabuza. If it was wrong… well, it didn't really make much of a difference. They would pursue the Konoha shinobi—and kunoichi—to reach their target. Just as originally planned. And what did it matter _how_ she obtained the information? Well, actually, it mattered quite a bit because that would imply there was a leak or that Haku had somehow messed up and if that was the case...

But if she was _right_…

Haku had only just now finished informing Zabuza of the information. Zabuza sat up in his bed, his eyes narrowed as he calculated through each risk and possibility. At first glance, many would tell you Zabuza was a mindless, savage, and blood lusting buffoon. But that was not the case. Zabuza could, and very much did, calculate multiple angles and see all the different outcomes.

He just wasn't able to do it as easily when the grip of blood lust took him the heat of battle. But that had never been a problem for him, so Haku could easily dismiss it.

A full minute passed by until Gato and his two useless thugs entered the room. Gato entered with confidence in his stride, grinning a slimy grin while his beady eyes darted across the room to where Zabuza and Haku were.

"I heard you let the Konoha brats go," Gato said. "Shame on you."

Zabuza cocked his head, seeming to debate for a moment before responding. He didn't very much like the thought of being played. He especially didn't like the thought of being played by someone was pathetic as Gato. "Perhaps. I was not paid to fight other shinobi. I was paid to kill a defenseless bridge builder. Speaking of payment, though, where is mine?"

Gato scowled. "I told you. You get it when you kill Tazuna."

"That's just it," Zabuza said, his eyes sharp as he focused in on Gato. "I'm beginning to doubt that you're going to pay me at all."

For a flash, Gato's façade broke and his face twisted into pure fury. "Who the hell told you that?"

Zabuza paused for a moment. "Apparently you did. Instead of denying the information, you quickly wanted to find the source to snuff out any other possibility of treachery."

Zabuza shifted from his bed, standing up with some difficulty and eying Gato. A look of malice glee entered the missing-nin's eyes. Gato took a small step back, his mouth hanging open. "Even now you don't deny it. You know… Gato… there is a reason why my people _feared_ me."

"You _clearly _don't know who you're dealing with," Gato snapped. "Any second and I could have an _army_ of men in here to rip you to shreds. You're just a has-been now. Unable to even take on a couple brats. And look at you now! Barely able to stand. You're in _no_ shape to be threatening _me_."

Haku moved, standing up from his chair and tensing himself for battle should he be needed. "And I _really_ don't like be lied to. _Especially_ by those far weaker than me."

"Shall I?" Haku asked, his voice a murmur.

"No," Zabuza said. "Leave this… to me."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

**(First POV – Nao)**

Imagine our surprise when in the middle of training, Zabuza and his... accomplice appeared before us. Immediately, Kakashi tensed, pushing me behind him and placing himself between the potential threats and his students, but I kept relaxed. I felt no killer intent coming from either of them.

"Change of plans," Zabuza said. "We don't want the bridge builder anymore."

Kakashi's eye narrowed.

"It seems Gato proved to be… misleading," Zabuza explained gruffly. "So I killed him. Now you don't need to worry about me killing the old geezer. He's not worth it."

"Then what are you going to do now?" I asked quietly, my shyness taking hold of me, forcing me to keep my body behind Kakashi, but peek my head out.

Zabuza eyed me for a moment. "This place is nice. Especially if the economy is going to imrove. Besides, now that I've stolen all of that useless man's money, I'm pretty wealthy. Might as well settle down for a while. Easier than constantly on the run at least…"

Kakashi did not relax, but he shifted stances to a more nonchalant one. "Well that's good to hear."

Zabuza snorted. "Whatever. I'm washing my hands of you brats. Let's go."

"... Why are you telling _us_ that?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

The accomplice moved to stand beside Zabuza, his mask discarded and Naruto stared at him, his brow furrowed and his expression thoughtful. "We do not want you to pursue us. And... And we understand Konohagakure isn't... quite as aggressive. We want to be able to settle down here, but because you are already aware of our presence..."

"I understand," Kakashi said swiftly. "I will inform my Hokage of this development, but so long as you don't intend harm on Konoha, I see no reason why we would instigate anything with you, or inform Kirigakure."

_That reason, and we definitely aren't allies with Kirigakure. If anything, they hate us almost as much as Iwagakure. _

Zabuza snorted again and then he and the other… were gone.

Naruto blinked. "So does that mean we've completed the mission?"

"Does that mean we can go home now?" Sasuke asked.

"We stay until the bridge is done," Kakashi said. "Then we can go home."

"Guess we lucked out," Naruto said. "It'd suck to have to… hey wait a minute! That guy from before was with Zabuza! What the hell?"

I snorted in amusement.

I paused.

... Why were those two from before familiar to me...?

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Kakashi gave a short sigh and I pulled back my head, chewing my lip thoughtfully as I peered up at Kakashi.

"... It's infected," Kakashi finally said.

I lowered my gaze. The eye that had blood and other stuff seeped into it from before was cleaned out by Kakashi and kept wrapped in bandages. However, Kakashi was by no means a medical-shinobi and I was unconscious for the majority of the cleaning. Even after waking up and having it cleaned again seemed to have proved relatively useless.

Whenever I unwrapped the bandages to try it out, any bright light around me would send a blinding pain through my eye and I had this horrible foreign-body sensation.

"And... that's the best diagnosis," Kakashi finished quietly.

I let out a slow breath, trying to squash down the rising sense of grief.

"... When we get back to Konoha, we'll have it looked at properly."

I only nodded.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"What's wrong, Nao-chan?" Naruto asked our last night in Wave (we would be leaving in the morning). The two of us were outside in the back. I had gone out to seek some peace and relative alone-time when Naruto had followed me out shortly after I had left. I was seated on the grass, my back to the house, and Naruto came out and sat beside me.

I shrugged mutely, staring sullenly down at the ground.

"... Is it your eye?" Naruto guessed hesitantly.

I glanced up at him, frowning. "... It's not looking too good."

"What's wrong?"

Both of us looked up to find Sasuke heading towards us, his eyebrow raised.

"Nao's eye isn't looking too good."

"So?" Sasuke retorted.

I frowned more deeply, feeling a little hurt by his dismiss at my injury.

"What the hell do you mean _so_?" Naruto exclaimed, his face twisting with unhidden anger.

"She's not the only one to lose an eye. Yeah, it sucks, but look at Kakashi," Sasuke pointed out.

My only visible eye widened and Naruto faltered in his anger.

"He's one of the best shinobi we have and he hardly uses his eye," Sasuke said. "Not to mention there are still plenty of other shinobi and kunoichi who get by with half their vision or no vision at all."

"You're right," I said softly, staring up at Sasuke in surprise. "I... I had not thought of that. I suppose I was still..."

"It's understandable to be upset," Sasuke said shortly, "but I won't tolerate either of my teammates actually allowing an injury like this to throw them off. So stop sulking."

Naruto glared. "How would _you_ like it if you lost one of your eyes?"

"It would be different," Sasuke said.

"How so?"

"Our Clans value different things," Sasuke said, gesturing between us. "It would be one thing if she lost her mind, or her sensor ability, as those are two things the Yamanaka clan pride themselves in... while the Uchiha clan pride themselves in our eyes."

"That's true," I remarked. "I would rather lose my sight entirely than my chakra sensing ability or my mind. I would rather lose my sight and my _legs_ than either of those. Just as I would imagine Sasuke would rather lose his arms and legs and mind than either of his eyes."

Sasuke nodded. "Exactly. So stop moping."

With that, Sasuke turned away and headed back inside. Naruto snorted behind him. "Asshole. He didn't help at all."

"No," I disagreed softly. "He did. In his own way, just as you did by your gesture to come out and make sure I was alright. Thank you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto gave me a sheepish smile.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"I'm right here," Papa said as he and Kakashi guided me through the hospital rooms. Not even two hours after returning to Konoha, I was scheduled for an appointment. Kakashi had personally escorted me home and explained the mission to Papa. Mommy was out at the time, shopping. Papa was _furious_ at the bridge builder. The coffee cup he was holding had actually shattered in his hands when Kakashi explained what had happened. Kakashi had actually neglected to mention that Zabuza and... the other person... was still there in Wave, and I could understand why. Papa, at that state, may had lead to do something irrational.

And for one reason or another, I felt the need to protect Zabuza and... his... apprentice?... so I didn't fill Papa in either. Kakashi had to give his report to the Hokage, so he left me with Papa. Papa had taken off my bandages and looked at my eye himself, frowning all the way. He sent a cousin of mine, Shi, to fetch Mommy from the market. She came back roughly thirty minutes after I came home and held me tightly, kissing the top of my head.

I felt a little small in their attention, and unsure of how to respond to it all. I understood their reasoning. I was, afterall, their youngest daughter and already on my _first_ mission outside the village-one that should have been relaxed and easy-had more than likely cost me my eye. Even if our clan didn't value the eyes as much as the Uchiha or Hyuuga... it was still _my eye_.

I didn't want it gone. I _really _didn't want it gone.

Ino and the others(Shikamaru and Chouji) had just left for their own first mission outside the village, so I would get no support from them.

When Kakashi had returned, he and Papa then took me the hospital, Mommy saying she would call over the others (Shikaku, Chouza and their wives... and at my request, Naruto, Sasuke and Tenten) and we would have dinner.

I was glad Kakashi had come. I took... much... comfort in his presence, and it was a nice reminder that even if I _did_ lose my eye... I could still be helpful.

The room I entered was small and seemed cramped. The doctor that entered shortly after was a thin woman with wispy black hair pulled up in a bun. She smiled politely at me and I undid my bandages. Kakashi leaned near the door and Papa stood beside me, a gentle hand placed on my back. She gave a _tusking_ sound when she saw my eye. She pulled out a fairly small device-_Ophthalmoscop-_(Tenten wanted to be a medical kunoichi, though her chakra control was horrendous for it, but she still studied up on what she could), and leaned towards me.

For a long while, she didn't say anything.

She leaned back, her smile gone as she frowned thoughtfully. "How exactly have you been feeling since...?"

"I..." I struggled to find the words to speak. Some part of me didn't want to describe everything. Wanted for her to say my eye would be _okay_ and it just needed some rest. It was so immature of me and I felt mildly ashamed of myself for it. Nevertheless, it took me some time to find the strength and courage to describe everything to her. "... I have been experiencing foreign-body sensations, and whenever I wake up... out of nowhere, I experience severe pain in my eye. The times I have unwrapped it and attempted to use it, my sight has been blurred and I've noticed its been very sensitive to the light."

She nodded, scribbling a few things down on her clipboard. "I'm sorry to say, but it appears you have Corneal Erosion."

"What?" It escaped my mouth before I could really process what she had said.

"What exactly does that mean for her?" Papa inquired while Kakashi closed his only visible eye.

"The pains will continue," She said gently, being sure to maintain eye contact with me. "And you'll still be sensitive to light in that eye. I can't promise your vision will improve, more often than not it will worsen. That's the worse-case scenario, though. It's manageable, but not curable. You'll have to use eye drops, a couple dots every four hours while you're awake should help. There are also special contacts to use that we can also fit so you can see better."

She gave me a small smile. "But, as I said before, it's not curable. The eye drops and contacts will only go so far. Your cornea's outermost layer of epithelial cells are failing to attach to the underlying basement membrane."

"But it's manageable." I grasped onto that one word, holding tightly to it.

"... Yes."

I let out a small breath. Papa nodded and kissed the top of my head. "Alright. Where can we get the drops and contacts?"

"Ah... While we _can_ fit her for contacts to see... I'm afraid I must finish my input on them," She said.

We fell into silence, waiting for her to elaborate.

"The contacts will not help with the light sensitivity, and a constant exposure and usage of her eye may result in... less than desirable consequences. I find that it would be best if she either kept it wrapped out for a while longer, or she decided to invest in something akin to glasses to block out the more harsher rays of light in that eye..."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

A couple days after my appointment, I had stayed late with Papa training. The sun was now setting and the sky had turned to a very lovely shade of orangeish-pink. I had decided to return back to Sasuke and Naruto to prepare for dinner. Ino and her team were currently out of the village for the moment, so Shikamaru and Chouji were unable to join us. The two had been beyond busy bodies since the Wave. Mostly Sasuke though. He trained like there was no tomorrow.

My eye, currently, was kept under wraps. I was hesitant in using darkening glasses as that would, more than likely, hinder my vision and performance as a whole in the long run as I would be too reliant on them. For the moment, I was trying out just using my one eye.

Even if it was painful. My depth perception was horrendous and I couldn't tell you how many bumps and bruises I had managed to collect over the course of the days. However, Kakashi proved to be most... helpful in this regard.

He understood all too well what I was going through. Even if he had the Sharingan in his eye, he couldn't use it for the longest time. Not only because it took too much chakra, seeing out of it was _wrong_ for him. Not morally, just that his body couldn't accept the vision it transferred him. He had to go one-eyed for the longest time.

Entering the compound, I maneuvered through the halls, heading towards what I felt to be a very… weak… chakra signature of Sasuke.

Curious and a little worried, I sped up my pace.

My heart momentarily stopped.

Sasuke laid face down in a ruined training ground. Scratches and bruises marred his body, as well as his arm, which seemed to jut out at an odd angle. From what I could see of the skid marks and the patterns of damage he seemed, to have fallen wrong. But what had me really concerned with his breathing.

Or lack of it.

Heart in my throat, I sprinted to him, quickly placing a hand on his throat and feeling for his heartbeat. Barely. But there.

My head snapped up and I flared my chakra signature, frantically.

But of course that wouldn't work. No one came into the Uchiha district besides us.

So I did the next best thing.

I ran.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I found him where I usually found him. Standing at the memorial stone.

"Kakashi!" I shouted, crashing into him and grabbing his arm. Startled, he pulled himself from his thoughts to take in my panicked face.

"What's wrong?" He demanded.

"Sasuke—he's not—it's not—_help_," I said, my mind reeling.

"Take me to him," Kakashi said.

I did as he asked.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Ten frantic minutes, an even more frantic nurse and a couple of IVs, and I finally sat at Sasuke's hospital bed, the stubborn Uchiha finally deciding to regain consciousness. Kakashi had left to find Naruto at my request, leaving it just the two of us.

"What were you thinking?" I asked quietly, my brow furrowed.

Sasuke stared at me a moment before looking down at his hands. "… I was useless."

My eyes widened at this.

"Against Zabuza," Sasuke said. "I was useless."

I frowned. "He was a—"

"I know his rank," Sasuke interrupted. "But it didn't matter. Itachi would be stronger than him and if I couldn't even face _Zabuza_ without shaking like a scared little boy, what hope do I have against Itachi? I hadn't even activated my Sharingan… it just…"

"I see," I whispered. "You didn't like feeling helpless."

Sasuke nodded his head slowly. "So I trained."

"And nearly killed yourself," I pointed out dryly.

"But it was worth it," Sasuke said, a slow smile stretching over his face.

"I don't see how."

"Simple… because of this."

And as Sasuke looked back at me, I noticed his eyes were no longer the obsidian black.

Instead they were the bright red of the Sharingan.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Troublesome. We rarely have time for ourselves anymore since graduating the academy. I knew I should have failed," Shikamaru bemoaned as he stretched out onto the grassy hill. I was sprawled out next to him, feeling lazy myself, and I watched as Naruto and Sasuke erupted into yet another fist fight and Chouji attempt to diffuse the situation.

"Have you ever had a _really _strong sense of deja vu?" I asked him, turning my head.

"... Doesn't everyone?" Shikamaru returned shrewdly.

"... Well... Back on the mission at Wave... I... I have _spots_ in my memories."

Shikamaru frowned, his gaze sharpening. "What kind of spots?"

"Just... spots. Suppression spots."

"Why would you consciously erase part of your own memory? Are you sure it wasn't _repression_?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I've read enough books and heard enough from Papa that I can recognize the difference from suppressing a memory to repressing it. I consciously forgot part of my memory on that mission, and the only thing I can recall for my reason being that was feeling the strongest sense of deja vu."

"... That's.. weird. Can you bring up the memories?"

"I _can_," I said quietly. "But I get this horrible feeling that I shouldn't."

"Then don't," Shikamaru said patiently. "If it's something that needs to be dealt with, then it'll be dealt with. If not, then you'll just end up making a big deal of nothing. I'd just relax and forget about it."

"That's what I'm afraid of doing," I whispered.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Tenten's arms wrapped around my neck from behind and she rested her chin atop my head. "Hey girlie, how have you been?"

"Busy," I responded, blushing slightly from Tenten's affectionate hug from behind. "How about you? Do you intend to introduce me to your team yet?"

"No," Tenten denied immediately, releasing her hold on me and sliding into the same booth I sat in at the tea shop. "As much as I have come to like my team, they're a bit too... eccentric for you."

I blinked owlishly at her. "Surely not that bad?"

"Yes. That bad. Anyway, you up for more taijutsu training? We haven't really had a chance since you joined your Genin team and Gai-sensei taught me a few interesting moves that I wanna teach you," Tenten offered, smiling at me.

My eyes widened and I smiled shyly back. "Thank you, senpai."

"Which reminds me, have you settled on your specialty?"

I hesitated. Normally after graduating, a Genin would choose which area they specialized in; taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, medical-ninjutsu, tracking, etc. My personality contradicted the normally demanding and blunt style of taijutsu, but I had no genjutsu or ninjutsu in my arsenal to learn from, and I didn't have a strong desire to learn genjutsu either as my sister was already trekking down that path and I didn't want to mimic her. Long-ranged ninjutsu seemed to best fit my personality, but I had felt too hesitant to approach Kakashi about training. Papa was too busy and Momma was a genjutsu kunoichi, not a ninjutsu one.

"... Not yet," I confessed. "I want... I _think_ I want ninjutsu, but I'm rather good at taijutsu... I just don't feel _comfortable _with it."

"Don't worry," Tenten soothed. "We'll find something you're good at. You're pretty decent at the katana and sword, as well as senbon and scythes."

"I supposed," I said dubiously. "I admit that I'm better at taijutsu than I am in ninjutsu for the moment, but..."

Tenten ruffled my hair. "Seriously, don't worry about it. You're only _nine, _you have _plenty _of time to choose a specialty. Why not just work with your strengths now and see where it takes you? You can always change paths if it doesn't fit you."

"I will definitely consider it," I agreed hesitantly.

"Now enough with that talk," Tenten said. "It's time to get your accuracy back up to speed!"

Her eyes lingered a moment or two longer on my concealed eye and I felt a little more hesitant.

Ino... Had been piss-pot _furious_ at what had happened. She very nearly went down to Wave herself to... ehem... _talk _with Zabuza. Papa had to actually physically restrain her, but then she made the very sharp comment about how _he_ was taking this so well, so Shikamaru and Shikaku had to actually use the Shadow Possession... It was a very eventful night.

She had also slept with me that night, insisting it was more for my benefit than her own, but I could see through her. She saw how that mission escalated and she realized, very somberly, that it could have been more than my eye that was lost. I didn't complain, however. I took comfort in her presence. She had also rearranged my hair style, moving it about so my hair could conceal the bandage I had over my eye. I still wore my hair as such, content with hiding my injury.

"... Yeah," I finally said. "Let's get to work, and thank you, Tenten-senpai!"

* * *

_So, yeah. Her eye is temporarily out of commission. If it stays that way for the rest of the story, is up for debate... If we ever see Haku or Zabuza again, that too is up for debate._

**_Answer: _**_Hot chocolate. _

**_Question: _**_Have you ever had a game-crush? Like a crush on someone from a game? NPC or otherwise...? If so, what was your first one or what is your current one? If you don't game or never had one... Crush on a character in general (from books / movies / etc)?_

_Reviews are **love**._


	11. Arc III - Kazekage-sama

_**Disclaimer: **Nao's my one and only toy in this adventure._

**_Warning:_**_ Fight scenes and language._

**_Beta:_**_ Kalafina94_

* * *

Weeks afterwards, Sasuke and I were stuck looking for Naruto. Our dear friend had left us the moment we finished our missions in hopes of meeting his little friend—Konohamaru. But he left before he could grab his mission pay and thus, Sasuke and I took off after him.

Though he was gone before we had a chance to see him.

A little exasperated, Sasuke marched us right through the crowds of people, entering a small alleyway.

"Where the _hell_ could he be?" Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"We could just give it to him when he comes home," I suggested.

"No," Sasuke snapped. "I've already wasted enough of my time looking for him. I'm going to find him and then I am going to _beat_ some sense into him. He knows better than to ditch us so soon—and to do so before we're even officially dismissed is just unacceptable."

I shrugged, knowing better than to argue with Sasuke when he'd become worked up. The only one who dared to do _that_ was Naruto, and while I adored my friend, I had to admit he wasn't the _brightest_ person I knew. With another growl of annoyance, Sasuke kicked off and headed into the trees, deciding it would be better to search for Naruto at a higher vantage point.

I didn't mind if we did or did not find Naruto; we would inevitably meet up with him again before the day ended. What difference did it make if it was at home or not?

Minutes passed by and eventually I did find Naruto… scowling furiously at a strange boy. The boy was wearing an all-black attire with a hood pulled up and strange purple markings on his face. His stance was defensive, but he seemed to be trying to make it look offensive. He was holding Konohamaru up by his front shirt, the younger boy struggling to get free.

The girl next to the boy looked a cross between concern and indifference. Her entire body read like she didn't mind the situation, but her face was screwed up in worry. Briefly, I wondered what (who) she was worried for.

"Naru-kun," I said, drawing the attention to myself. Feeling slightly shy, I hurried over to stand partially behind Naruto and look at the two newcomers. "Who are they?"

"I'm Temari," the girl answered, offering me a small smile that looked like it wanted to be a smirk.

The boy glanced over at me, sneering.

"I didn't realize we had petty petulant persecutors among Konoha," I murmured at his sneer. His sneer dropped, face twisting up as he tried to make out my words.

"He is kind of a brat," Naruto agreed. "Last time, let Konohamaru go."

"Or else what?" the petulant boy smirked.

I pursed my lips and cocked my head. _I suppose I should do something before Naruto acts reckless_. From what the Elders and Papa had informed me, I was to use the technique as often as I could. From experience, they had learned that the more I stretched and used the technique, the easier it would become. However it would _always_ place some sort of strain on me, but that strain _could_ be significantly lessened. Sending out a small wave of chakra, I wrapped it around the boy's hand and forced him to release his grip. Surprised, he bended to my will easily.

"Thank you," I said sweetly, ignoring the mild throbbing in my head.

"Thanks, Nee-chan!" Konohamaru chirped, smiling at me.

I ducked my head in embarrassment.

"How did you do that?" the boy demanded.

I only smiled sheepishly. The boy glowered and took a menacing step forward, forcing Naruto to tense up, but before anything else could happen, a rock soared by quickly and hit the boy on the forehead. It fell to the ground, imprinting a bright red spot on his forehead.

The boy winced, rubbing his forehead, his eyes darting around quickly before locking onto the thrower's. Naruto, Temari and I all looked up, finding Sasuke sitting on a tree branch, scowling.

"Hi, Sasuke-kun," I greeted, Naruto greeting Sasuke with a simple grin instead.

"What are two Suna shinobi doing in Konoha?" Sasuke asked, his eyes narrowed.

"We're here for the Chūnin Exams," Temari said. "I'm Temari and this is my brother, Kankurō."

The boy sniffed in reply.

"Chūnin Exams," Naruto echoed softly. "I forgot all about them. D'ya think Kakashi-sensei signed us up?"

"I don't see why not," Sasuke said, rolling his eyes slightly.

Kankurō sneered. "You three are way too young for something as dangerous as—"

"Kankurō. Enough."

Shivers crawled up and down my spine at the voice; it was almost a hiss, but not quite. It was like the sound of sand grating and eroding away at a harder surface than it. My eyes moved away from the two stiffening Suna shinobi, towards the voice. A boy, tense, yet relaxed with shocking bright red hair stood on the branch behind Sasuke. Judging from Sasuke's shocked and wide eyed appearance, I would assume Sasuke did not detect him either.

However, while the others stared at him in either fear or shock, I found myself staring at him in confusion. He was particularly familiar, and every time I blinked while staring at him, I could have sworn I saw another version of him, and I felt the strongest and deepest respect for him. The kind of respect I held for the Hokage. As the boy dissolved away into sand, the urge grew stronger. He reappeared on the ground, standing before me-us, standing before _us_-and staring at us impassively.

Two visions kept flickering before my eyes; one of the boy in front of me and the other of a young man with his head bowed as tears escaped him as he asked the crowd before him to lend him their strength.

Unable to resist, I bowed lowly and whispered, "Kazekage-sama."

I froze.

Beside me, I could feel Naruto shift in confusion and the Suna shinobi stiffen in shock.

"... What?" the boy asked, a tense feeling underlining the word.

I flushed, feeling my stomach churn and as I straightened. I couldn't quite bring myself to look him in the eyes. "... I... I'm sorry. I must have... are you... r-related to...?"

The Suna shinobi relaxed.

"Yes, we're his children," Temari answered, "but that doesn't mean we should be answered in the same... manner."

"I... I understand. I-I'm sorry," I whispered, my fingers curling around the edges of my sleeve.

This instinct... the absolute respect I held for the boy... it was not refuting. It was _still_ there. It _demanded_ I bowed in respect to him and that I stood right by his side, supporting him in whatever way I could. Why would I feel in such a way? I didn't even know the boy's _name_-

_(Gaara)_

Gaara.

No. That couldn't be his name. I had never even heard of it (_but it's so familiar?_), so naturally it was impossible for me to know it.

"M-May I ask your name...?" I asked softly, squirming and trying desperately to meet his eyes, but failing every time and turning redder because of it.

"Gaara," Gaara said flatly.

My breath caught in my throat and I stiffened.

No.

Coincidence.

_Coincidence_.

"I-I am Yamanaka Nao, and this is Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto... we-we hope you find everything pleasant in Konoha. G-Good day, Gaara-sama," I whispered, not catching the honorific I had unintentionally added to Gaara. Somehow it just seemed to fit him so perfectly.

_Just who was this person...?_

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

It would appear we were indeed entered into the Chūnin Exams, and it would appear we had only a day before the exam began. We spent that day goofing off. Naruto and I even roped Sasuke into joining us for a bit. Kakashi was reluctant at first, but caved in when Naruto threatened to burn his books (and actually held a lit match under them to show he really meant business).

Currently the three of us wandered into the Chūnin Exam building, I held both of my brothers' hands and felt content with myself. I don't quite remember when I had reached out to grab them on our walk here, but it didn't matter because they didn't seem to particularly mind. Well, Naruto certainly didn't mind and Sasuke didn't really show anything more than mild reluctance, but not enough to really actively pull away. I had come to notice when I was with my them I was no longer quite as shy as I would be on my own. And when I had their support, I was definitely not shy.

That pleased me.

After heading up a single flight of stairs, we were forced to maneuver through a tight crowd.

The crowd surrounded a scene. A brightly green clad boy laid on the floor, wincing. Tenten-_I didn't know she would be in the exams as well_-knelt beside him. Two large boys stood in front of a door.

But the door was odd. Chakra radiated from it and after a moment of thought, I identified it as a genjutsu.

I squeezed both of their hands. Sasuke squeezed back immediately in confirmation, but it took Naruto a moment to squeeze back in reply.

I dropped their hands as Sasuke stepped forward. "Let us through."

One of the boys—who was also radiating chakra—sneered. "You want in this room, you have to go through us."

"We don't want in the _room_," Sasuke sneered right back. "We want up the flight of stairs. It's so obvious you have a genjutsu placed over the numbers."

"So you've seen through our illusion, clever," amended the other one.

"Not clever," Naruto snorted. "We actually know how to count."

"Fine," the first one said, stepping back and smirking.

Sasuke moved through and up the stairs, the crowd behind us murmuring. Naruto grabbed my arm and pulled me along. Though a hand grabbed my other arm, stopping me.

Curiously, I looked back to find the green boy looking up at me with wide eyes. "Please, if I may. Your beauty exceeds that of spring, such vibrant eyes! I beg of you, what is your name?"

My face flushed and Naruto glared at him in annoyance. I saw Tenten give me the most smug look imaginable, mouthing: _T__old you, you wouldn't want to meet 'em. _

"I—I um, I um…" I swallowed roughly. "N-Nao…"

"Nao-san!" the boy declared passionately. "Please, be my girlfriend. I will protect you with my life."

"I'mtooyoungtodate!" I squeaked out, jumping back and away from the strange boy before sprinting past Sasuke and Naruto, ignoring Tenten's cackle behind me.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I skidded to a stop, just as Sasuke and Naruto caught up to me before the door. Naruto was laughing at my reaction and Sasuke had a small smirk on his face. My own face was a bright red with my heart pounding wildly in my chest.

Before us, in a swirl of leaves, appeared Kakashi. "Well, well. What's this? Why's Nao-chan so red?"

"She was asked out on a date by some spandex boy," Naruto snickered.

"Squealed and fled," Sasuke chuckled.

I flushed and looked down at my toes, which suddenly seemed _very_ fascinating.

"Ma," Kakashi said, moving forward and patting my head. "She's too young for that sort of thing. I'd hate to think what I'd have to do to the pedophile if she had actually said _yes_. Well, I just came here to wish you all good luck."

"Ha," Naruto snorted. "We won't need it."

"Th-thank you Kakashi-sensei," I mumbled, shifting.

Sasuke's smirk only widened.

"Mn. I'm proud of all three of you and I want you to just do your best. Don't let the others push you around."

"Like we'd let _that_ happen," Sasuke snorted.

Kakashi's eye crinkled into what I knew to be a smile. I felt myself smiling back, my heart beat slowing and my face slowly returning to normal.

In another swirl of leaves, Kakashi was gone and the three of us entered the room.

Not even a second of entering the room, I was glomped by Ino.

"There's my baby sister," Ino cooed, hugging me tightly to her. I smiled and relaxed, my arms snaking around her and hugging her back. I may not have been so dependent on her anymore, but that did not mean I didn't enjoy her hugs and attention.

"So you guys are taking the exam too? How troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, joining us.

"Hi, Onee-chan, Nii-chan, Cho-kun," I greeted, still hugging my sister.

"What's Naruto-loser and Sasuke-bastard doing here?"

Naruto and Sasuke bristled as Kiba and his team entered the area around us, smirking confidently. On his head, his faithful companion yipped.

"'Bout to kick your ass," Naruto threatened.

"I was thinking more along the lines of _maim_ and _murder,_ but that works just as well," Sasuke said with a small nod of his head in an almost regal fashion.

Ino squealed, releasing me to attempt to glomp Sasuke. He sidestepped her with ease, pulling me in front just as she tried again. He used me as human shield and my sister glomped me once more. Ino pouted, but didn't try for a third time.

Kiba huffed.

"Perhaps you three should keep it down," said a smooth voice.

All eyes snapped towards a (_disgusting_) sharp (_mad_) young man (_thing_) as he entered our little ring of friends.

"Why should we?" Naruto demanded.

"Look around you," the (_snake_) boy said. "You're outnumbered and you don't want to get attacked by the older ones, do you?"

"Let them try," Sasuke snorted. "They'll be disqualified."

The boy gave a smile, his (_its_) lips forming a tight line. "I suppose that's true. Very astute of you to point out. But say, would any of you like a look at my Ninja Info Cards?"

"What are they?" Kiba asked incredulously.

"Why, I've collected information on all the Genin—"

"How?" Sasuke asked.

"I've failed this exam seven times."

"You suck," Naruto deadpanned.

"How did you collect this information?" Shino inquired.

He (_it_) smiled more widely. "To collect information on the other Genin to help me further in my exams—"

"That's stupid," I said quietly.

His (_dangerous_) eyes snapped towards me. "How so?"

"To collect data for other exams," I said hesitantly. "It's useless if they are made Chūnin. Not to mention the majority of them die. And then there's the long list of _newer_ Genin that you shouldn't have _any_ information on. It's pointless to have such cards unless you want to collect information on _Chūnin_."

"She's right," Shikamaru said with narrowed eyes. "Not to mention those cards are a violation of the neutral treaty. Direct information derived from the exams are to be seen and handled by the Kages prior to the Final Exam. How troublesome."

"So basically, you're cheating," Naruto drawled.

His smile slipped. (It always did)

Sasuke tilted his head. "I suggest you leave. Better to quit now, before we report you."

The boy dipped his head in acknowledgement before he turned and headed back to his teammates. We didn't notice them leaving.

I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, there was a puff of smoke and in entered a scarred man in a long dark coat.

The First Exam had begun.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Each of us were seated further away from each other, but that did not hinder me. The papers were already passed out and I stared down at the complicated problems in front of me. Ibiki was monologuing in the front of the room and I ignored him. He already explained the rules and now he was just wasting our time by rambling.

The problems were advanced. Things that they did not teach us in the academy and only select few would know how to do them without cheating.

Thankfully my team was one of those select few.

Sasuke and I understood these problems, yes that was true. We knew them because they were relatively simple in our eyes. Well, not _simple_, as I would still have difficulty doing them, but we understood the basics enough that we could more than likely go through each problem one by one. So long as we didn't rush through, the two of us should be able to handle it. Naruto was not a prodigy like the two of us. Under normal circumstances, that would have hindered him.

But these were not normal circumstances. Naruto may not be a genius like Sasuke and I, but he was gifted in being able to understand the issue and solve it. It was more challenging on paper for him, true, but nothing he could not handle. Has not handled, anyway. Just look at his ingenious plans he comes up with on the spot when pressured.

It was Shikamaru who first noticed it. None of us would have guessed just how bright Naruto could be at times if Shikamaru hadn't watched Naruto and Sasuke spar all those years ago. Shikamaru was the one who drilled into us to work _smarter, _not _harder_, and we all knew that Naruto would more than likely never be able to grasp the academic things that we could. At least, not in the normal way.

Naruto wasn't the type to learn by _reading_ or _studying_. He was the type of person to see a problem, break it down and solve it.

It was vastly different doing such a thing on paper than it was in an actual blood-pumping-adrenaline-coursing battle, but the principle was there and it was thanks to Shikamaru that Naruto learned how to use it.

The _only_ reason Naruto remained the dead-last was because he had too little patience for tests that wouldn't matter in the long run, and piss-poor chakra control (and that was something that _none _of us could assist him with).

It was for that reason alone I did not concern myself with Naruto. Sasuke and I could handle these problems and I knew for sure Naruto could handle them as well.

I glanced towards Sasuke and his eyes caught mine. His eyes trailed over to Naruto and I followed them. Naruto looked back at us, a challenging grin on his face.

He mouthed, _First one done doesn't have to do dishes for a week._

A mishevious smirk appeared on my face and I caught the same look on Sasuke's.

I mouthed, _Last one done has to do them instead._

Sasuke's smirk widened and he nodded his head. Naruto nodded his as well and I grinned.

I turned to my worksheet, already reading the first problem, and I set to work.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Done," I called out happily, a triumphant smirk on my face. I set my pencil down and turned my sheet over.

Sasuke and Naruto didn't reply, instead they worked faster.

"Finished," Sasuke called, flipping his sheet over and sitting back, smirking.

"Damn it… done," Naruto grumbled, turning his sheet over and sighing.

"Quiet," Ibiki snapped in the front.

The three of us shrugged, not really caring. And we sat back and waited for the 'tenth question'.

At least... until I heard Ino's voice echoing throughout my head.

_Hey, Imouto._

_Nee-chan...?_

Ino had the possession technique down for quite some time and had moved onto the next phase of clan training-projecting and linking thoughts. She couldn't do it to a stranger yet, but the more familiar she was with someone, the easier it was for her to project and read thoughts. She couldn't link more than one thought either, but she would get there with time.

_Can you give me the answers to the test? Pretty please? I don't really want to possess someone._

_Sure, Nee-chan! The first answer is..._

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Well that was… anticlimactic," Naruto said as the three of us made our way towards the Forest of Death. After Ibiki's exclamation about the tenth question, a strange lady by the name of Anko busted in and ruined it… yes. Yes, that was exactly the word for the event.

"I thought these exams were supposed to be more…" Sasuke seemed to struggle for a moment with the right word, "… instigating."

Naruto nodded his head. "I know. Man, how boring… oh well, at least this seems like it'll finally have some action. I've been dying to show off how amazing I am."

"There's a problem with that plan though," Sasuke said. "You _aren't_ amazing."

Naruto snorted. "You're in denial."

"I'm not going to confirm or deny that, either way I'd lose," Sasuke muttered dryly.

Naruto grinned. "That's just how awesome I am."

"But the name is really cliché," I murmured. "_Forest of Death_? Really?"

Sasuke snorted. "I know. They might as well have just called it _Insert Stereotypical Name Here_."

"Oh, really?" Naruto asked with a grin. "Then I'd call it the _Formidable Naruto Forest_!"

"That's even more unoriginal," Sasuke said.

"At least my hair is beautiful," Naruto said with a sniff.

Sasuke sputtered. "Beautiful? What does that have to do with _anything_, you—"

He stopped himself at Naruto's grinning face. His eyes narrowed.

"You said that to get a rise out of me, didn't you?"

"I plead contemporary insanity."

"You don't need to plead it," I said reasonably. "We already know you're insane."

"Just like the rest of us," Sasuke sighed.

Naruto grinned. "Man, I love my team."

"We are a bit breathtaking, aren't we?" I demurred.

"Indeed we are."

"Oh, there's the Forest of Unoriginal Naming," Naruto said, lifting his arm and pointing his finger. Standing before a fenced in _giant_ forest was a large group of Genin. The Genin that had passed the first test.

Slowly, but surely, the three of us made our way towards the massive group.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"How soon do you think it'll take until we find a scroll?" Naruto asked, walking slowly in front of us. The three of us weren't even bothering trying to run. We weren't sure who we would run into first and we might need every last bit of our chakra. Not to mention running through the trees was way too obvious. You'd be surprise how many people weren't expected to walk on the ground.

"I don't know," I said.

"I bet we find a group in two hours," Naruto said.

Sasuke cocked his head. "Less than one hour."

"You're on," Naruto said.

Not even a second after Naruto said those words did three large Genin land in front of us. From their headbands, I could tell they were from Iwa. With a small frown, I glanced over them.

They didn't seem special. In fact, they were scrawny and held the wrong stance for both offensive and defensive. They were older than us, of course, but that gave them no advantage. It seemed they were hoping to scare us into submission.

"... That's just not fair," Naruto muttered while Sasuke smirked in triumph.

"Sasuke," I murmured. "I'll go for the one on the right, you finish him. Naruto, can you handle the other two until Sasuke and I are done?"

"Piece of cake," Naruto said, grinning.

"Brats," drawled the smallest one in the middle. "Hand over the scroll and no one gets hurt."

I pushed my chakra out just as Naruto summed a small army of clones. As Naruto and Sasuke rushed towards them, my chakra had reached my opponent. He was caught off guard by Naruto and Sasuke's assault and was momentarily frozen. He didn't even realize I had captured him until Sasuke moved in to attack. But when he did realize, he didn't realize _how_ soon enough. Sasuke had already ducked in close to him, twisting his own body to knee against our opponent's diaphragm.

Instant knock out.

When I felt him sag in my grip, I released my hold, letting out a shaky breath and fighting off a wave of fatigue and sharp pounding sensation. I looked over to find Naruto had already defeated one of them and the last one—the smallest one—stood shaking before us.

"H-Here, take it," he said, setting the scroll down.

He then turned tail and fled the scenes.

The three of us shrugged and Naruto picked up the scroll.

"Figures," Naruto muttered. "We already have this one."

"You hold on to that one then," Sasuke said. "Let's move out and see if we can find another team."

"Right."

* * *

_So... a couple of you mentioned you didn't like Nao's eye-issue and her only having one eye for the remainder of the story was... not awesome. .v. One of you actually guessed spot on why I had her missing an eye (and despite many of your beliefs, it was not because I wanted a Kakashi clone, though now that you've got that in my head, I can't seem to *not* do it)._

_It's symbolic._

_She lost 'half' of her mind. Her memories are suppressed and in that aspect she is 'blind' to the future. However, her memories, even if suppressed, still act and influence her, so it's more like she's 'half-blind', grasping into the dark (the future). _

_And yeah, exams are up. Gaara-sama ftw._

_**Answer: **The first one that I can remember was Silver from Pokemon. I screamed with joy when I found him in HeartGold / SoulSilver. My current one is Fenris from Dragon Age: II, though that's quickly losing interest 'cause the game keeps bugging out. Damn you game bugs and glitches! Damn you! One that will forever remain in my heart is Madara and Tobito from Naruto Storm 3. ;)_

_**Question: **If you *had* to lose a single body part... what would it be and why?_

_**Preview(Haha, totally forgot about these): **_... sliced into my neck and I screamed.

_Reviews are **love**!_


	12. Arc III - Panic

_**Disclaimer: **Naruto and the rest are Kishi's. _

**_Warning:_**_ Fighting. Hysteria... Cliff... Hanger. _**ಥ⌣ಥ**

_**Beta: **Kalafina94_

* * *

An hour later, literally out of nowhere, a huge blast of sheer _power_ erupted in front of us. I barely had time to scream in surprise before I felt Sasuke's hand grab on to my own and I reached to grab Naruto's. However, the blast was too strong, and in a matter of seconds, Naruto was ripped away from us and we were sent hurtling through the forest like little pebbles that had been kicked aside by a child.

I twisted my body along with Sasuke and we landed with a thud in a small clearing.

I winced and turned around.

"What the hell was that?" Sasuke asked, his voice low.

"That… was me."

Shivers raced down my spine at the slick voice, but it wasn't the voice that that terrified me.

It was the killer intent.

That particular intent… made Zabuza's look like a purring kitten. The sheer amount of desire for blood to be spilled—for _our_ blood to be spilled—coupled with the fact of the amount of power that oozed out along with the voice…

My stomach heaved and a whimper escaped me.

Kakashi wasn't there, though.

We were on our own.

I didn't even realize I was shaking so badly until I noticed Sasuke. He, too, was shaking with fear, his dark eyes wide with it.

The owner of the voice stepped before us, smiling twistedly. "Why _hello,_ Sasuke-kun."

His eyes… oh sweet Kami, his _eyes_.

His eyes were like a serpent that had found its prey; like a mad scientist who just found a new and fascinating specimen; like an insane killer who just found his latest victim.

Us.

I whimpered again, cowering away from him.

Sasuke tore his eyes away from the man towards me. I met his gaze and saw something I did not like. The same small glow of determination in his eyes that he held the day he activated his Sharingan. For a brief panicked moment, I feared he was going to try and use himself as a human shield for me, but that thought was over quickly.

Because Sasuke had reacted already.

In a single movement, he pulled out a kunai and jabbed his leg with it. He grimaced in pain, but he had stopped shaking. Upon realizing what he had done, my only visible eye widened, but he was already on the move. He threw down a smoke bomb and grabbed me.

In seconds, we were flying through the trees.

Sasuke led and I followed blindly, my heart hammering loudly and painfully in my chest. My head was dizzy with fear, and my body sluggish and numb with terror. I didn't know how long we ran, but when we had finally stopped, we were out of breath and my fear had subsided enough to think clearly.

We landed on a branch, panting heavily.

"We… have to find Naruto," I breathed.

"I… I know," Sasuke said quietly.

"How?" I asked him.

"I don't know," Sasuke answered. "But I… I don't ever want to see another precious person to me die. Even if it is Naruto."

I gave him a weak smile at his attempt to joke, but it faltered easily.

"Who was that?" I asked timidly.

"I don't know," Sasuke responded. "He can't be a Genin. That was too much…"

We lapsed into silence.

"Come on," Sasuke said, standing up. "Let's go and find—"

The tree behind us exploded into sprinters and immediately, Sasuke and I leapt back and away from the tree, landing on another one. Where we once were was that man from before. He grinned at us.

"Now that wasn't very nice," He said, his voice sickeningly smooth. "I wasn't done talking."

Sasuke shifted and stepped in front of me. Keeping his voice low he said, "I'll attack. You hold."

My eyes widened, fear already pulsing inside of me. "But he's so strong…!"

"We have to try," Sasuke interrupted, already jumping off from the branch and moving his hands.

I suppressed a shudder of fear and bit my lip. Heart hammering, I forced my chakra out in a burst, shakily molding it and guiding it towards the opponent. My chakra wrapped around him in invisible thread and he tensed, immediately realizing what had transpired. From just the mere push and fluctuation of my chakra, I could already feel the pain rising up in my head, pounding and sharp.

His eyes narrowed just as Sasuke finished the last handseal for his Great Fireball Jutsu.

And he broke my hold with ease-sending a searing white hot burning sensation to ride through my mind as he disrupted my control-jumping out of the way of the ball and swinging his gaze towards me.

My eyes widened with fright as he lunged towards me, dark intent in his eyes.

Heart in throat and vision doubling from my technique, I could do nothing, but wait for the inevitable.

Or _would_ have been inevitable had it not been for Naruto.

In a flash of orange blur, my brave friend leapt out of nowhere, his hand clenched tightly into a fist, and rushing towards the man. His face twisted into a growl as the man dodged him with relative ease, twisting his body as his eyes narrowed.

His original pursuit in me, however, did not go unnoticed and he continued on his path, annoyance dwelling in him.

"I won't let you hurt one of my friends," Naruto snarled, rushing forward again.

My legs wobbled and felt like water. I had to move. I had to get out of the way. Naruto gave me the chance and damn it, I had better take it!

"Especially my family!" He shouted.

Apparently more annoyed with Naruto than with me, the man's lower half melted away into a slithering form. He rested on a branch before his tail-like body swung around and slammed into me. It seemed to come at me faster than I would have thought possible, and I didn't have enough time to properly dodge it. It connected against my chest, forcing the air to rush out of me in a painful _whoosh_, and I flew away from it and my head hit a tree. Sharp pain arched through the back of my head and darkness dotted my vision. Vaguely, I could see the man rushing towards Naruto.

But I was already falling to the forest floor.

I blacked out before I even hit it.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

When I awoke, it was to the strangest sight. My mind was muffled and honestly, I couldn't really tell you _what_ I was properly thinking. My memory of that moment was incredibly… blurred. At best, I could only tell you I was _feeling _accurately. Just like before with Haku and Zabuza, my mind felt on the verge of teetering. Only instead of a gentle slope like with them, I felt like I was hanging above a vast and horrendous cavern. Like if I made just _one_ more step, I would fall and it would _not_ be a pretty sight.

Naruto was dangling from a tree branch, unconscious and a little battered, but other than that he _appeared_ to be okay. The forest around us was thoroughly damaged, singed and shattered. The ground I rested on was slick and sticky with my blood and my vision was blurred.

A little ways from me was Sasuke, panting heavily, and on his knees. And smirking a little ways from him was the man. His face was burnt off, revealing something else. Something (terrifyingly) familiar.

I struggled to see his face as my vision slowly refocused into clarity. His familiar, familiar face.

And I saw it.

My heart pounded loudly in my chest and my breath stopped.

It all rushed back to me. In one horrible wave. All my memories of my past life flooded through me and I _knew_ who he was. I _knew_ what was going to happen and I _knew_ what I had to do, but it was _so much more than that_. Because I _remembered_ everything and then-and then I was-I was-everything was-

My lungs were burning.

(_I couldn't breathe! I couldn't breathe!_)

Tattered, tattered and _beatenbeatenbeaten_.

(_Tossed about like a rag doll)_

My mind was slowly descending into chaos as the old memories fought with the newers ones and one moment, I was here in the forest and the next, I was struggling against the-

There was a line, a single line of thought that broke through it all, because I saw _ThatManWhoJustWon'tDie_ take a step towards Sasuke(_Jaymie_), and I froze.

Orochimaru was going to hurt _my_ family.

It was that thought that finally pushed me over the edge. Anxiety, fear, panic, hysteria bubbled into me and I thought desperately at what I could do. They were too far. Too far. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't do anything! Again!

They were too far. They were too far. _Too far. Too far. Toofartoofartoofartoofar._

I couldn't attack; I was so very dizzy. Dizzydizzydizzy. But they were so far. They needed me. Sasuke needed me. Naruto needed me. _He needed me!_

If Sasuke left, Naruto would be hurt. They would all be hurt. ItachiDanzōEldersMassacre. GaaraKazekageKageSummit. HokageTsunadeKonohaPeinNagatoKonan. AkatsukiAkatsukiAkatsuki.

_ MomDadBabybrother._

Hurthurthurt. Deaddeaddead. They needed me, and I couldn't be there.

_I was going to lose them all._

I had to reach them. Had to protect them. Had to protect. Had to defend. Hadtohadto_hadto_.

I was delirious, my emotions were out of control, and I thought and prayed and _begged_ to be able to do something. For my body to _move_. I had this wonderfulamazinglybeautiful chakra, so _why the fuck couldn't I do something with it_? My body was so _sluggish_ and I knew I had lost too much blood, but I had to _move_ because I _needed_ to move, but I _couldn't_ do anything more than struggle to sit up.

I was hyperventilating, and for a moment, I wasn't in the forest again; I was _fallingfallingfallingagainagainagain_.

_(No! No! I don't want to! Please! I don't want to die!_)

TheHandWasTooFar.

Shaking, my vision still blurred, and frantically, I grabbed at my chakra. My body couldn't move, but _it_ could.

I willed it. I forced it. I _ripped it._

_Panicpanicpanic_.

My mind snapped.

A black hole appeared beneath me just as Orochimaru's neck elongated and his head shot towards the vulernable Sasuke.

_Hadtoreachhadtoreach. Hadtohadtohadto._

For a heartbeat, all I saw was blackness, and all I felt was coldness, and all I heard was the gentle _huuusshh_ of the-

Then it was gone and I was shooting out of a black hole that had appeared right in front of Sasuke. My arms snaked out and wrapped around him and I threw myself on him.

Sharp, horrible pain sliced into my neck and I screamed.

_Protectprotectprotect_.

Burning. Like lava being poured through my veins. It raged through my entire body, blinding me and blanketing my mind. Only sheer pain and agony ripped through me and I screamed. I screamed and I screamed.

Even as darkness edged my vision once more, all I could do was scream and scream.

_Ihadtoprotectthem._

_Becausetheyweremyfamily__._

_Andbecause-because-_

It was my fault to begin with.

(I'm so...

_sorry_)

* * *

_Chill out. **SHE DOES NOT HAVE THE FULL-BLOWN CURSE MARK.**_

_She does not have the full blown curse mark. Promise. That would be way too Sue-ish. _

_Yeah. What she was experiencing shouldn't really make much sense to you... yet._

_... Cliff hanger. _**ಥ⌣ಥ**

_I have more beautiful fanart, link on profile or you can check out my (Charredblossom16)'s favorites or cambadia's or Hakuna-Those-Tatas gallery on dA. _

**_Answer:_**_ ... All my body hair that is not above my neck. :D Goodbye shaving! I'm really surprised very... very... very few of you considered your hair. ;P_

**_Question: _**_You know how anime / manga hair is usually completely insane and unrepeatable in real life? Whose own hairdo (from an anime / manga) would you want to have as your very own hairdo? Any animes / mangas.__  
_

**_Preview:_** My eyes closed and I felt hope drain away from me. Sagging slightly, I resigned myself to my fate.

_Reviews are **love**! See you next Wednesday!_

_PS... To my amazing beta (Kalafina94) ... Thank you for beta-ing my story! May your bacon never burn._


	13. Arc III - Marked

_**Disclaimer:** Nao is mine, everyone else is Kishimoto's. The troll._

**_Warning:_**_ Violence, fighting, panic, pain, you know... the usual._

**_Beta: _**_Kalafina94_

* * *

**(Third Person POV – Sasuke)**

Sasuke swallowed roughly, his eyes never straying from the freak of a man that had attacked them. Yellow eyes, slanted into snake-like slits, were wide with unhidden fury. When Nao had finally stopped screaming, slumping unconscious in Sasuke's lap, the snake man pulled back.

"Impudent brat," he hissed, his voice low and smooth as ice.

Sasuke did not reply, words failing him for the first time in a long time. He was sure, damn sure, some part of him was furious, but that part seemed so small and detached that he was able to ignore it with ease. Now was not the time to allow emotions to rule over him. He had two injured teammates and a foe that just _would not die_.

Finally, for what seemed like an eternity, Sasuke found his tongue. "What did you do?"

The shinobi's eyes met with Sasuke's, narrowing with annoyance. "It was… a gift to you, originally. Something I cannot procure twice so soon, so it would seem you will have to wait a bit more for yours, Sasuke-kun."

"That doesn't answer my question," Sasuke replied, struggling to keep his voice even.

"If she lives, you'll find out on your own," he said dismissively, "but I suppose for now… it would be in my best interest to leave. I wouldn't want to be found out so soon, I'm afraid. Until we meet again, Sasuke-kun... and rest assure, we _will _meet again."

Before Sasuke could react, the man merged with the tree behind him, disappearing from sight and hopefully for good. When he was gone and Sasuke could no longer sense his chakra, nor his presence, Sasuke finally glanced down at the teammate in his lap.

Nao was breathing in short ragged breaths, her face screwed up in pain. Sasuke carefully felt her forehead, annoyance flaring through him when he found it unnaturally warm.

_Shit_, Sasuke thought. _This exam is becoming more and more of a hassle…_

His arms wrapped around Nao and he shakily pulled himself up, silently grateful for her tiny body and light weight. If she weighed any more, Sasuke doubted his fatigue would allow him to carry her further. Speaking of more weight…

Sasuke glanced over to Naruto, who was laying down on a tree branch, unconscious.

_Damn it,_ Sasuke cursed again. _Why did Naruto have faint, too? Now I have to carry _his_ sorry ass, as well…_

With a reluctant sigh, Sasuke kicked off in said orange shinobi's direction.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Both of them were still unconscious half way through the night when Sasuke finished fortifying their hide out. Hidden high up in the tree tops, Sasuke had set up various traps to not only alert him of enemy presence, but hopefully take a few enemies out. After applying the last explosive trap, Sasuke let out a relieved sigh.

Jumping back up to the top, he landed in between Naruto and Nao. With a tired, jaw breaking yawn, he switched both of their cooling rags. Satisfied they would both be alright without him for the rest of the night, Sasuke settled himself down a little ways from them and closed his eyes.

Sleep greeted him warmly.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Before dawn came up, Sasuke blinked his eyes groggily. Immediately, his body tensed, sensing the presence of others. His eyes roamed the forest floor below him, finally settling on a group of three Genin that were hidden not far from his tree. The three of them were speaking amongst each other, too far away to hear.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he felt his vision clarify as his Sharingan took hold. With narrowed eyes, he read their lips.

The first Genin, now dubbed Genin A, had a nearly entirely concealed face with wrappings. Sasuke could not read his lips, but he could read the others. Genin B, the only girl, was the first to speak since Sasuke activated his Sharingan.

_So we've found three traps so far—there has to be more. We've only found the ones at the bottom, do you think there could be more up top?_ Genin B asked.

_Probably,_ Genin C—the only other boy in the group—said. _I say we just blast the tree from the bottom up and see what happens. Odds are the Uchiha is still asleep and the attack will at the very least do some damage._

_ And draw the attention of every other Genin in the area,_ Genin B hissed.

Genin A had spoken because the other two turned to look at him.

_You're right,_ Genin C conceded. _So what are we supposed to do? We're supposed to attack at dawn, and it's nearly dawn. We've wasted all night finding them and when we finally found them, we find them layered in traps. Traps we've only found three of, need I remind you?_

_ Shut up,_ Genin B snarled. _You're going to draw attention if you raise your voice any higher, idiot._

A sort of strained breath caught Sasuke's attention. Whirling around, his eyes settled on Naruto who was slowly blinking his own eyes open. "Wha—?"

Sasuke held up a finger to his lips. Naruto frowned at the action. Satisfied Naruto wouldn't make any more noise, Sasuke turned back to the three Genin below.

_—just have to risk it. We need to attack at dawn or risk Orochimaru's wrath. The Uchiha _must_ die,_ Genin C growled.

_Orochimaru? _Sasuke thought softly, filing the name away later for consideration.

_Fine!_ Genin B exclaimed, throwing her arms up in the air from exasperation. Genin A said something and the two of them immediately quieted.

Sasuke frowned, looking away from them and in the direction the sun would rise. Already the sky was beginning to lighten. He had, perhaps, seven minutes before it was dawn. Moving quietly away from the edge, Sasuke moved to kneel beside Naruto.

Naruto was looking at Nao with a worried expression, a frown tugging down at his lips. Gently, he felt her forehead, pulling back after a while. He glanced at Sasuke, his clear blue eyes shining with concern. "She has a fever."

"I know."

"What happened?"

Sasuke paused a moment before explaining what had occurred when Naruto lost consciousness. When he was finished, Naruto wore a hardened expression, a glower set on his face.

"That bastard," Naruto growled under his breath, voice low. For the briefest of moments, Sasuke could have sworn he saw a red tint in Naruto's eyes, but it was gone before he could really consider seeing it.

Sasuke did not bother to reply to that remark, choosing instead to glance down at the Genin below. "We don't have time for that."

"What do you…?" Naruto followed Sasuke's gaze and his eyes narrowed. "I see. Have a plan?"

Sasuke smirked. "Just one."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Genin C was the first one to attack. He leapt from his hiding spot and straight above the third trap Sasuke had set. The third trap was a hidden trap; a barrage of needles kept ready to spring at the simple tug of thin twine Sasuke had up beside him.

He pulled on the twine, and the barrage of needles erupted from their hiding spot. Genin C's eyes widened as he quickly realized he had nowhere to dodge the needles while he was in midair. Grimacing, his arms shot out towards the needles and Sasuke watched with morbid curiosity as _air_ shot out of his palms in a highly pressurized line. The air threw the needles off course and Genin C was able to safely make it to trap four.

Just as Genin C touched the top of trap four, trap four (it was a spring, meant to launch the enemy high into the air) triggered and back into the air Genin C went.

Genin C gave a startled shout as he flipped over several times, his back now to Sasuke.

Sasuke smirked and hurled himself into the air, delivering several nasty kicks to Genin C's vulnerable spine. Genin C was kicked further into the air as Sasuke safely fell back down to the tree tops, smirking in satisfaction.

When Genin C fell to the ground, it was with a loud and hollow thump, unconscious or dead.

Either worked for Sasuke.

Naruto snickered beside him. "That guy was pathetic."

It was then that a senbon needle flew out to land next to Sasuke, a bell ringing from it.

_Tch,_ Sasuke thought. _A combination of genjutsu and senbon. Great. Just great._

With a final glance towards his only unconscious teammate, Sasuke readied himself for battle.

_She owes me lots of tomatoes for covering her sorry butt, _Sasuke thought, although there was no actual threat or malice behind his words.

However, that was the most he was allowed to think before Genin B froze. Genin B then proceeded to turn and start attacking Genin A(who had been hiding behind the bushes)... Sasuke watched in surprise and wary confusion as Genin A attempted to reason with Genin B. That only seemed to anger Genin B, though, and then Genin A froze as well.

Sasuke's eyes widened in realization as Genin B _then_ proceeded to take out some rope, knock out Genin A, and tie him up. The shadows that were once attached to Genin A slithered and moved to wrap around Genin B. Genin B then slumped forward and Chōji stepped out into the clearing, knocking her out and tying her up.

Sasuke and Naruto exchanged brief smiles.

"Oi, what are you three doing?" Naruto called down.

It was Ino who responded. She came out of the bushes, her face screwed up with worry. "I... I had this feeling. Nao. Can I see Nao?"

Sasuke's smile (really, smirk) slipped and Naruto glanced away, his eyes trailing down.

"Boys," Ino said, her voice low and her eyes narrowing. "Where is _my baby sister_?"

"Up here," Sasuke finally said. "Be careful of the traps..."

"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered as he stepped out of the bushes.

It didn't take long before the trio of friends reached team seven. Ino's eyes widened and she rushed to Nao's side, kneeling beside her and pulling her head in her lap. She brushed back Nao's hair, placing a hand over her cheek.

"She's burning up," Ino whispered, her voice shaking.

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked, his eyes sharpening as he pinned Sasuke with his heavy gaze.

Sasuke took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

He explained everything.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Ino was shaking by the time Sasuke was finished, but it was not from fear or sadness. The girl was _furious_. Her eyes were lit with unhidden fury and glinting with the promise of revenge. Sasuke had to admit, he had never seen the girl like that—then again he didn't spend much time with her in the first place.

"And you _let that happen_?" Ino finally asked, a bite in her voice as she glared darkly at Sasuke.

Sasuke blinked in surprise.

_... Wasn't she supposed to be my fan girl...?_

"You allowed her—_again!—_to shield you? First, she lost her _fucking_ _eye_, and now she might lose her _fucking life_!" Ino snarled, shaking and bringing Nao closer.

Sasuke shifted uneasily, not liking how close to the mark Ino was hitting.

And he knew, he knew full and well that Ino wasn't really mad at _him. _She was hurt and angry that her sister had once again been placed in a less than desirable situation. It was possible that she may even be mad at herself for not being there, and that she was just taking it out on him.

"So much for being Top Rookie," Ino sneered.

... Or at least he thought he knew.

Sasuke, once again ignoring the uneasy feeling Ino reminded him of—_guilt? What did he need guilt for? Sure, she was a friend, but it's not like he could have stopped her and it wouldn't do anyone any good for him to dwell on _guilt—he exchanged glances with Shikamaru.

"We need to get her to the tower," Shikamaru finally said.

"... What?" Naruto blinked.

Sasuke noted how Naruto had been hovering unusually close to Nao. Sasuke would have guessed that if Ino hadn't been holding (and hogging) the girl all to herself, _he_ would have.

"It's the safest place and more than likely they have someone who can... help her. It's our best option," Shikamaru said. "... How many scrolls do you have?"

"The weird guy ruined one of ours... but we have an extra."

"Chōji... go check the team we took care of down there. See if they have one."

Chōji nodded, munching nervously on some chips.

Nao gave a small sigh, her brow furrowing. Ino pulled her closer, kissing her forehead and smoothing back Nao's sweaty bangs. "Shh... It's alright, imouto. Nee-chan's here."

For a brief—_oh so brief—_moment, Sasuke didn't see Ino and Nao. Instead he saw himself and—

Sasuke blinked as Chōji called up to them, "They've got one Heaven Scroll!"

"... That's actually exactly what we need," Sasuke said.

"So now we just need to get to the tower," Naruto concluded.

"We'll go with you guys," Ino said quickly.

"No," Shikamaru immediately disagreed, ignoring Ino's look of outrage. "We still need to get our scrolls so _we_ can get into the tower. We'll waste too much time if we go with them, and we won't be of anymore help to them if we don't get in the tower. Besides, they're less likely to be spotted by other teams if they move on their own than if we traveled with them."

Ino glanced away, her eyes softening as she mulled over Shikamaru's words.

"... Fine."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

**(First Person POV - Nao)**

My brow furrowed.

Now conscious, I felt myself wanting to frown. My entire body felt ragged and exhausted. My mind was weary and blurred.

For the life of me, I couldn't remember what had happened.

Only… only wanting to protect and then… pain. In my neck.

Right where it was throbbing erratically, actually; a constant pain that had me nearly cringing. To describe the pain… it would be impossible. I could only tell you how it dug into me; into my very core and wrapped around my very essence. It was driving itself into me, trying to take me over.

Forcefully and painfully.

I noted I was being carried—piggybacked. From the scent and feel of the hair, by someone very familiar…

I creaked my eyes open. "Naru…?"

We had been moving. Quickly on tree branches, but at my voice, Naruto stopped, halting immediately. Sasuke landed next to him, eyeing me carefully, a mix of worry and fear in his face. I blinked my eye groggily.

"Nao-chan?" Naruto asked hesitantly, twisting his head to face me. "Oh thank… thank Ramen King, you're awake."

"What…?"

"You… shielded me from… that man," Sasuke said quietly, his eyes trailing downcast. "I don't know how. One second you were far away and the next right there… That man… he bit you. There's a weird… mark on your neck now."

I winced. "Th… ank you… both."

They both tensed, looking at me alarmed.

"You're the one who saved me," Sasuke argued, a scowl on his face.

"But you pulled away from him," I said softly. "You shielded me against him and were prepared to fight him for me. Naru, you saved my life. When he had attacked me and Sasuke was too far… I would not be alive without either of you. Thank you."

Thick silence fell between us, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

"There's no need to thank us," Naruto said roughly, his voice thick. "We're friends. We're all we have."

Sasuke gave a slow nod, not making eye contact with either of us.

"Let's go. We have to get to the tower," he said gruffly. "The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get Nao checked out."

I gave a small nod and my eyes fluttered close. Unable to help myself, I drifted back into sweet oblivion.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

When I woke up once more, I was lying in a bed. My clothes had been changed. No longer were they blood stained and dirt covered things; I was wearing gauze, too, and my hoodie. My injuries seemed treated and my body felt oddly relaxed. Well, aside from the neck, of course.

Naruto noticed me at once as he was sitting beside me. Sasuke was in front of Naruto on my other side and… Kakashi… next to Naruto.

I blinked my eyes and slowly sat up, frowning. "What…?"

"We made it to the tower," Sasuke explained. "We told Iruka what happened—who showed up because the scrolls were actually _summoning_ scrolls—and he promised help. Kakashi arrived here about an hour ago."

Kakashi gave me a calculating look. "May I see your neck?"

I nodded my head and shifted. Turning my neck and brushing back my hair, I stretched my neck out for him to see. Kakashi ghosted closer to me, his light fingers brushing against the mark.

"Mn," Kakashi murmured. "Just as I thought... Although it's not... not like that woman's... Did he... _bite_ you or...?"

"He grazed her," Sasuke said slowly. "He snapped back pretty quickly when he realized she was in front of me."

"That may be why," Kakashi muttered. "It's not... It almost appears as though it's incomplete; like he could only give you a shadow of it due to lack of time or something... More than likely... I'm hesitant to call it this, but for lack of a better word, you have a Curse Mark. Something special to Orochimaru. It will have to be sealed, but…"

"But?" Naruto prompted.

"I can't."

"Then get someone who can," Sasuke said shortly.

"They can't either."

"What do you mean?" Naruto demanded.

"It's still the second part of the exam," Kakashi said, his voice flat. "By sealing the mark, I'm interfering with the exam. By sealing the mark on one of my own Genin, I'm playing favoritism _and_ interfering with the exam. It's cheating."

"Then don't get caught!" Naruto exploded.

"Sealing something like this would alert every Jōnin in the area," Kakashi said dryly. "I can't _not_ get caught. I can't do anything to the seal now. When the second exam is over, I'll be able to seal it, but for now…"

My eyes trailed down and my shoulders sagged.

"Son of a—" Naruto swore vehemently. Sasuke glowered and glared down at his lap.

Kakashi placed a hand on my head. "However…"

All of us looked up at him.

"Well," Kakashi hummed. "There _is_ a medicine that'll ease the pain as well as induce a wonderful sleep. In fact, I have some right now."

He pulled out a small bottle of pills and set them in my lap.

"It would be a _shame_ if I _accidently_ forgot them so _conveniently_ by my student who _just so happens _to need some," Kakashi hummed. "Oh well. I better get going. Ja ne."

When Kakashi disappeared in a poof, the three of us were grinning (minus Sasuke, who was smirking).

"Kakashi-sensei is awesome," Naruto decided.

I agreed wholeheartedly.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Resting for two days went by fairly quickly, seeing how the three of us mostly spent our time sleeping. Or at least I did. I awoke a scarce few times, one of them being to my sister who frantically hugged me and then refused to leave my side for the remainder of the day... not that I was complaining. It was nice to have her by my side. I was not quite sure what my boys were up to when I was unconscious and they didn't feel compelled to tell me.

But despite resting for so long, I felt no better.

Oh sure, my body was nowhere near as sagged and limp as it was two days ago, but my 'Curse Mark' did not make anything easier. Constantly, I felt it throbbing, burning and searing. It wanted me to give in. It wanted me to bend and allow it to take over. It promised me if I did, the pain would stop.

I wanted the pain to stop so badly.

But I was too terrified of the consequences. Although I had never heard the term 'Curse Mark' until now, the very sound of it promised nothing but misfortune. Despite my obvious ignorance, I was _petrified_ of it. Some buried subconscious part of me gave me the instinct to fear the mark with every fiber of my being. And to hate it.

And hate it, I did.

But it was just so _tempting_.

Not only did it promise to stop the pain, but it promised to make me feel _good_ and _strong_.

I was not strong in the fight against _that _man, and I most certainly did not feel good at all.

I just wanted this exam to be over with, so I could get rid of that thing.

At the end of two days, the three of us stood in a large cement room. The entire floor held cracks and small craters with blood stains dotting them. The walls were large and long, also sporting many cracks and blood stains. On either side of the wall were balconies, and although they looked sturdy, they held many fractures and guess what? More blood stains.

All of my fellow Konoha Genin were gathered.

Gaara, I had also noted, seemed oddly calm and less edgy, but there was still a tense underline in his posture and his pale eyes somehow showed no sign of light. Temari and Kankurō seemed intent on refusing to look at him.

In front of us, the Hokage rambled on about a preliminary match, but I couldn't quite concentrate.

My Curse Mark was acting up once again. I winced and clutched my neck as a reflex. A useless reflex, but a reflex nonetheless. It throbbed painfully, longing to released.

I just couldn't concentrate.

At the end of his speech and the arrival of the new proctor, followed by a screen appearing… the first match was decided.

**_Yamanaka Inonao_**

**_Vs._**

**_Yoroi_**

I stared at it, momentarily uncomprehending before I understood.

Fuck.

Naruto winced sympathetically with me and gave me a worried look. Sasuke frowned at me before patting me lightly on the head. I gave a sort of grudging sigh as they, along with the rest of the Genin moved up to the balconies.

My Curse Mark throbbed painfully and I cringed again.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Kakashi appeared from behind me. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he bent down and whispered into my ear. "The Curse Mark will take over you if you use any ninjustu, or if your chakra is depleting too quickly. If the Curse Mark activates, I will be forced to interfere and you'll be disqualified. If you lose control, that is."

"Taijutsu only, got it," I muttered before wincing again.

Kakashi squeezed my shoulder reassuringly, before he too left.

I stood before the one who was supposed to be my opponent. Yoroi. I could see nothing distinctive about him—he looked like a cliché henchmen for a doctor or something. However, from his stance and his chuckling, I could assume he was smirking and quite confident in fighting me.

I didn't like being underestimated.

I squared him off, frowning slightly as the proctor had us begin.

Immediately, Yoroi rushed forward, his hands glowed a light blue. His right hand snapped out towards me and I bent backwards, rolling with it. His chakra barely grazed my skin, but graze it, it did. I could feel a sickening pull from my own body and towards his. With a sinking stomach, I realized he was absorbing my chakra.

I could _not_ have asked for a worse opponent.

I continue bending backwards, intent on flipping and kicking up at him, but my neck throbbed and I cried out from the pain. My balance was lost, as well as my focus, and I fell to the ground. Yoroi wasted no time and prepared to dive towards me. Searing pain throbbed from my neck, but I rolled over and kicked myself back to my feet. Already, I was running towards him.

I was no stranger to pain, but _this_—

That.

Damn.

Temptation.

I had to finish this quickly.

I bunched up my right fist, intent on punching, but the pain doubled and I was forced to falter. Yoroi took that to his advantage and grabbed hold of me, twisting me into a headlock and sucking my chakra quickly. I struggled in vain against him, but the pain from my neck was so intense and he was sucking my strength…

So… tempting…

Just a second… just a second…

No… I shouldn't…

Why not?

Just a… little.

The pain in my neck doubled before it was gone completely and a rush of satisfaction bloomed inside of me. I grinned maliciously and twisted out of Yoroi's grasp, grabbing his own arm and pulling it towards me with as much strength as I could muster. I heard a sickening pop and felt sick glee inside of me. Not finished, I release his arm and he staggered back with a cry of pain.

I rushed towards him, bringing up my dominate leg and kicking him as hard as I could.

He flew across the room, crashing into the wall with a disgusting thud and multiple cracks. Dust covered my view of him, but I didn't need it.

No.

No.

_No._

That subconscious part of me seemed to be screaming _no_ so loudly and shrilly in my head, it broke through the cloud of malicious haze that had previously taken hold of me.

My stomach dropped as I realized what I had done.

Relying on the curse mark…

I pushed it back, the power that flowed through me along with the sick satisfaction. I shoved it away from me fearfully, and already the pain returned. This time a thousand times hotter and I cried out. Shakily, I dropped to my knees, clutching my neck desperately as I fought for control.

I would _not_ let this thing take me over.

I would _not _become someone's slave.

I would _not_ lose.

As the incredible (dark) chakra resided back inside of me, the pain was almost unbearable. Nearly blinded, I could only vaguely make out the figures of the others and the words that I had won.

I had won… but only just in time.

I shook and bit back a whimper.

Kakashi appeared next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder and giving me a smile.

I gave a sluggish nod, before sagging and forcing oblivion to take hold of me once more.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Topless and bare, I shivered in the cold, damp air. The sealing room, as I had dubbed, was a dark and dreary place. It screamed ritualistic horror movie. The poorly lit place had my eyes straining in the darkness to properly see.

I shivered again, goose bumps rising up my skin as Kakashi continued to draw seals on my body.

"... What exactly... what exactly do I have?"

"I've already talked with... some others," Kakashi said. "Orochimaru has been experimenting with something we call the Curse Mark. In theory, its completed version will give someone an inhuman amount of power and strength. However, for it to take effect, to take root, it requires direct contact with Orochimaru and for him to inject it inside of the... host."

"Like snake venom," I muttered.

"Yes," Kakashi said quietly. "From what Sasuke has described, and our own information, he didn't really complete the... injection. What you have is a fracture of the mark. Incomplete. It's more or less akin to... to his first living subject of the mark, with some exceptions. For instance, _yours_ causes malicious intent and gives you a minor boost in strength with it. That's about as far as the differences stretch, however."

"How can you tell?"

"... We _do_ have spies of our own," Kakashi said dryly. "We... We know about the completed version of the Mark and from what we've seen of yours... and in comparison..."

"I see," I whispered.

We lapsed into silence as Kakashi finished drawing the last of the seals.

"Ready?" I asked, my voice a hoarse whisper.

"Yes," Kakashi said. "This is going to hurt, a lot, but it will be over quickly. When you wake up, you'll be in the hospital and probably a bit delirious."

"Will it permanently seal the Curse Mark away?" I asked quietly.

Kakashi seemed to hesitate a moment. "… No. I'm not a seal master… The only person I could think of that could possibly seal something like this would be Jiraiya of the Sanin, but…"

He let the _but_ hang in the open air. He didn't need to say it.

Jiraiya was nowhere near the village and even if he was here, was no guarantee he would seal it.

My eyes closed and I felt hope drain away from me. Sagging slightly, I resigned myself to my fate.

Kakashi began the sealing.

* * *

_I don't know. I always thought the whole Curse-Mark she-bang was such utter bullshit. So yeah. That's it. Answering this now: I have no intentions of Nao using the mark. Ever. It will play a role in plots / subplots, but her using it is a big no-no. As you can see, it not only _terrifies _her, it _hurts_ her (and she has enough pain to deal with, thankyouverymuch) and it doesn't really help her enough to be of significance. If she wasn't already fatigued and in pain from the mark, she would've kicked Yoroi's ass with such ease._

_... Reminder to those who aren't new and to those that are **new to the story**. I_ do _have a collection of Canon one-shots with this story (and another) titled **Fading Memories**. In that story, I elaborate on character relationship, side character development and add a little more detail to the story. Or in case I just want to write fluff. I also add a chapter to **that **story whenever I don't for this one or _Chipped Mask.

**_Answer:_**_ Neko from __K. No particular reason. _

**_Question:_**_ Best T.V. series you have _ever _watched?_

**_Preview:_ **

I bit my lip. "Kakashi-sensei, you made the Chidori right?"

"That's right. Chidori is completely original," Kakashi said.

"Then," I said slowly, "can you help me make my _own_ jutsu?"

Kakashi's eye crinkled and Sasuke gave me a smirk.

"I don't see why not," Kakashi said.

_Reviews are **love**!_


	14. Arc IV - Foundation

_**Disclaimer: **Nao is mine! Nothing else in this story is, though._

**_Warning:_**_ Rawr._

**_Beta:_**_ Kalafina94_

* * *

Dizzily, I opened my eyes and found Kakashi sitting next to me. I was changed into my regular clothes, happy to find that there were no IVs plunged into me at all. Instead, Kakashi sat perfectly content next to my bed and read his book.

I also noted that there were many bouquets of flowers surrounding me. I felt a small smile tug at my lips at how thoughtful my visitors must have been. I slowly sat up and Kakashi looked up at the action.

"How do you feel?" Kakashi inquired.

"Dizzy," I murmured. "And…"

I closed my eyes and concentrated.

My body was repaired, the physical form at least.

But... but my mark was still there.

I felt a strong stab of bitter disappointment through my heart. I knew it wasn't going to work fully; however, I couldn't help, but hold onto childish belief that it would. It hadn't, of course. The Curse Mark was still there and while the pain was gone, the temptation was not.

I could not decide which was worse.

At least the pain was a constant reminder to why I shouldn't give in to it. And while I was by no means a masochist, I would much rather take the physical pain it brought me then the horrible temptation it currently gave me.

I didn't want to lose myself.

"I still feel it," I whispered, my voice thick.

"I'm sorry."

My eyes opened and I looked down at my hands.

Kakashi cleared his throat. "You passed the preliminaries and you'll be moving onto the Final Round. You'll fight either Sasuke or Gaara; you have a bye, so whoever wins that round, you'll be facing. When you're able to move again, I'll take you and Sasuke a little ways out of the village to train."

"What about Naruto?" I asked, my brow furrowed.

"Don't worry, he has a teacher," Kakashi assured me.

I nodded my head slowly.

"Ja ne. I should probably tell the others you're awake."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Man, so Kakashi is training you, too?" Naruto asked, slurping some of his ramen noodles. I blinked up from him, shifting in my hospital bed and twirling my chopsticks.

"Yeah," I murmured.

"Damn," Naruto grumbled. "First Sasuke and now you. He actually tried to get me stuck with some basic instructor! How come he chose you two?"

I shrugged, motioning towards my neck. "He chose me to keep an eye on my mark. He chose Sasuke... probably because Sasuke is his favorite."

"Favorite!" Naruto screeched. "I don't think so! I'll show him that _I_ should be his favorite."

"Why can't it be me?" I asked curiously.

"'Cause you're _everyone's_ favorite," Naruto said dismissively. "Besides, Sasuke and I won't share you."

I chortled. "Is that so? What about Nii-chan and Chō-kun?"

"Okay, we can share you, but only with them."

"What about Papa and Momma?"

"Fine them, too."

"What about—"

"Okay, okay, I get it, but we still won't share you with Kakashi."

I felt a small smile of amusement tug at my lips at Naruto's childish declaration, but it did not reach fully. I was unable to reach a good mood. The Curse Mark…

"So who do you have teaching you now?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Oh well, I dumped the loser guy and tried to find another teacher. I found this really old pervert instead, but he's supposed to be good."

"Who is he?"

"Mmm… Jiraiya, but I call him Pervy-Sage."

I stiffened. "Jiraiya? Jiraiya as in _Jiraiya the Toad Sage of the Sanin?"_

Naruto frowned. "I guess."

"Can you take me to him?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"What? Why?"

"He's a seal master," I said quickly. "If he could… if I could get him to just… just a look at my Curse Mark, then I won't have to…"

"I thought Kakashi sealed that thing away," Naruto said, his eyes narrowing.

"He's not a seal master," I whispered.

Naruto gave a firm nod. "Then yeah... I'll bust you out of here and you can talk to Pervy-Sage, but if you ask me, don't expect to much. I don't think he's very impressive."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," I whispered, gratitude, along with hope filling me.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Who's this?" The man, who I assumed to be Jiraiya, asked upon seeing me. Naruto held my hand as he guided me through the pathway and towards the small clearing he would train with Jiraiya at.

"This is one of my precious people," Naruto declared. "She has a problem."

Jiraiya looked at me as I released Naruto's hand. My shyness took hold of me and I couldn't resist the urge to look down, a blush forming across my cheeks. His eyes continued to watch me, sharp and calculating and his expression was coolly neutral. Although, his posture and stance read relaxed, I couldn't help, but notice the underlining tension in it.

"I'm Nao," I whispered, clenching my fists. In a burst of bravery, I dropped to my knees and bowed. "Will you please help me?"

Naruto stiffened immediately at my position and much to Jiraiya's credit, he only frowned. Naruto looked down at me, worry creasing his brow as he knelt beside me, placing a hand on my back.

"What's wrong?" Jiraiya asked.

"Some weirdo bit her," Naruto explained for me. "Now she has a Curse Mark and no one can seal it. She thinks you can help her."

"Weirdo… Curse Mark," Jiraiya echoed, his brow furrowed.

"If you can help her, you have to," Naruto said. "Please, Pervy-Sage."

"What's she to you?" Jiraiya asked skeptically.

"She's my first friend," Naruto said, his head lifting up and a challenge lighting his eyes. I knew that look. It was the same look he had when he was out to prove a point to Sasuke, or the teachers in the academy. It was also the same look that said he would _not _take no for an answer.

Naruto went on,"That's why you have to help her because if you don't, I'll kick your ass."

I almost snorted in amusement at Naruto's confidence. Almost.

Jiraiya, however, _did_ snort in amusement and held up his hands in surrender. "Calm down, kid. I will. Girl, sit up."

I straightened and looked down shyly.

"Let me see," Jiraiya said, moving to squat down in front of me. I brushed back my hair and tilted my neck. Jiraiya frowned even more so, before his fingers brushed across my neck, chakra pouring out of them. I winced inwardly at his prodding towards the sensitive spot, but held my tongue.

A moment passed and he pulled back, his eyes darkened.

"It's Sage energy," Jiraiya muttered under his breath.

"What?" Naurto asked, his face blank.

"Don't worry about it," Jiraiya said absently. "Yes, I can seal it, but it won't be permanent."

I must have looked crestfallen, because he was quick to continue. "It's only because it'll adapt to each seal placed on it. There is no way to properly seal it, especially at this stage. If I didn't know any better I would say it was incomplete, but… it's almost like it _is _incomplete, unstable. Because it lacks stability, there can be no definite seal to hold it, it's too volatile." Jiraiya shook his head. "The seal I place on it now will suppress it completely, but over time it will dwindle down and the Curse Mark will be able to break free. When that happens, you just have to place a new seal over it, something completely different."

I hesitated. "How will I do that?"

Jiraiya stared at me straight in the eye. "I'm not going to beat around the bushes. There are very few who can properly seal that thing away, and even fewer who can design a new seal each time. I won't be around each time it breaks loose, either. If you don't want this thing to take you over, then you better become a seal master, or at the very least, efficient enough."

I froze at his words, my brow furrowed and I felt a keen sense of horror.

"Piece of cake," Naruto said for me.

Jiraiya snorted.

No. Not a piece of cake. The art of sealing was something so complicated only master shinobi even attempted to advance their skill. Normally, only even elite shinobi were able to create their own paper bombs and storage scrolls. Anything more advanced than that was rare and difficult to obtain. Not to mention all the past seal masters had been well older than me. More knowledgeable of the world and how it worked.

I was only _nine_. I couldn't become a seal master so easily. I doubted I could ever reach that goal, truly.

But I didn't have a choice.

Either I worked my ass off on the most difficult thing shinobi art, or I allowed myself to be taken over by the Curse Mark.

And I doubted, I truly and utterly doubted, I would be able to pull it off even if I did pursue the art.

It was a lose-lose scenario.

"I… see," I said quietly.

"I'll seal it this time, but I'd say you have... five? Six? Maybe seven months before you have to seal it again," Jiraiya said. "Because it's still fresh in your body, you won't need a complicated seal for it, but as time goes on, you will need more complex seals for it."

I nodded my head, resigned and a little less than happy at my results. "Thank you. Really, thank you very much."

Jiraiya shifted, almost sheepishly, at my gratitude.

Naruto gave me an encouraging grin.

"Well," Jiraiya said, "let's get started then, shall we?"

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I giggled.

The Curse Mark was no longer noticeable and for that, I felt incredibly joyful. It was daunting that I would have to study sealing, but it was better than the alternative. After Jiraiya had sealed my mark, Kakashi had found me along with Sasuke and the three of us were on our way to our training ground.

The reason I was giggling?

I got to piggy back.

It was childish, I know, but it was also amusing. The moment I felt free of that mark, I felt this dawning sense of liberation. It was like for so long I had been kept in the dark, then all of a sudden I was introduced to warm light. I was feeling uncharacteristically giddy from joy of no longer feeling the mark, that I just hopped onto Sasuke's back and demanded to be piggy backed there. It was something I had normally only done with my sister when I was very little (still at the hospital little), I found it very comforting to do, so naturally when I felt _that_ giddy... Sasuke was about to drop me on my butt, but Naruto taunted him saying he couldn't do it.

Being an Uchiha and not one to back down from a challenge initiated by Naruto, I got a free piggy back ride straight to the grounds.

Which, by the way, were incredibly far out and very… dry.

The landscape was a barren rocky cliff. Sasuke stopped and I hopped off him at Kakashi's signal.

"This is where we'll be training and camping," Kakashi said.

"What will we be training for?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi cocked his head. "Speed. Definitely speed. I have two sets of weights you two can wear around your ankles for the training period. They're yours to keep, I suppose. Not like I can get a refund for them, anyway… "

"What else?" I asked curiously.

"Well… I'll be training Sasuke for the Chidori."

A gleam took to Sasuke's eyes. We all knew what the Chidori was, what it could do. I wasn't so high headed that I wouldn't admit I was a bit jealous, but my jealousy didn't last long, as it never did when it was concerned with Naruto, Sasuke or Ino (and occasionally Tenten, Shikamaru and Chōji). It almost seemed as though that whenever _they_ were praised or done well, that _I_ was praised and had done well. I suppose you could say I was living through them in that manner, or perhaps I was just proud of them. Either reason worked for me.

"What about Nao?" Sasuke asked.

Kakashi hesitated. "I'm not sure. I don't have a lot of jutsu in my arsenal that don't require heavy chakra and even though Jiraiya-sama sealed the mark…"

I bit my lip. "Kakashi-sensei, you made the Chidori right?"

"That's right. Chidori is completely original," Kakashi said.

"Then," I said slowly, "can you help me make my _own_ jutsu?"

Kakashi's eye crinkled and Sasuke gave me a smirk.

"I don't see why not," Kakashi said.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Each village has their own specialty," Kakashi began, "Sunagakure specializes in poisons and puppeteering, Kirigakure specializes in kenjutsu and assassinations, Kumogakure specializes in lightning jutsus and speed, Iwagakure specializes in explosives and earth jutsus while Konohagakure specializes in-"

"Dōjutsu," Sasuke muttered.

Kakashi snorted.

Sasuke shrugged. "We might as well. Or kekkei genkeis."

Kakashi gave a slow nod. "I suppose you could look at it in that manner. The point I was trying to make, however, is that each village has a certain style to it and excels in different areas. It's why you don't ever see puppeteers in Konohagkuare, or kenjutsu users in Iwagakure. It's not unheard of for a few special shinobi to go ahead and specialize in areas their village aren't known for—as we have our own kenjutsu users, though they aren't renowned like the Seven Swordsmen—but it's _rare_. When you create a jutsu, you have to keep in mind in where it would fit. It would be best if you created a jutsu to compliment your village's style, as not only would that increase the chances you could pass it on to your own student, but you could also have assistance in creating it from your fellow shinobi."

"Pass it on?" Sasuke echoed.

"The Will of Fire," I murmured, realization dawning on me.

"Exactly. I took a risk in creating the Chidori, as I did not (at the moment) excel in lightning based attacks, nor was I trained in assassin techniques. It would have been entirely impossible, had I not received the Sharingan. I lucked out in that area, and that's why you need to be sure to base _your_ move in something that you _know_ you can do. Don't try and make the impossible possible. That only rarely happens, and usually when it does, it happens in a way you don't want it to," Kakashi finished quietly.

"I see," was all I said, contemplating his information. "The majority of my clan is either lightning natured, or water natured, and there are a fair few who share both affinities. More than likely, one or both of those are my natures as well."

"It would make sense, yes," Kakashi agreed.

"I..." I hesitated. "I am quite useful with a katana, scythe and dual daggers. At least, that's what Tenten-sempai informs me. I am not a rising prodigy in either, but I seem more comfortable using them, so I believe I would like my jutsu to take one of those shapes."

I fell into silence, thinking carefully.

Chakra natures were a funny thing.

Chakra, in all actuality, didn't _have_ a nature. What we would refer to as 'earth-natured chakra' wasn't really chakra made from earth. The same applied for _all_ of the elements. It was why lightning dominated earth, even if actual lightning would be grounded by actual earth (and thus prove useless). It wasn't _earth_ and _lightning_ in the chakra. It was how the molecules were formed and reacted with one another.

Take earth type, for example. It wasn't actual dirt or earth, but rather chakra that was highly dense and closely packed together; sluggish almost. The reason earth-natured chakra users could influence the actual earth itself, was because of the similarities in their molecular structures. That was it. Lightning, on the other hand was sharp and _fast_. It pierced through everything in one, single, fluid motion. When earth and lightning met, it was immovable object meeting unstoppable force, the force actually winning, though. The lightning-natured chakra pierces through the 'earth', shattering its form and completely changing it.

The reason we conceived earth-natured chakra as _dirt_ and _ground_, was because mentally, _dirt_ and _ground_ were the closest things we could use describe them. More on the mental limitations, though, later.

Chakra didn't even have set properties (the only thing set for each nature was the molecular structure, but that was _it__). _It didn't have a set temperature, it didn't have a set reaction to every single thing. In theory, you could make _hot_ ice with chakra. Something completely impossible in the natural world, but as chakra did not follow the laws of it, completely possible with it.

Granted, it would be more difficult. While chakra did not have laws to it, the human mind _did _(this is why earth-natured chakra was _dirt _and _ground_). Chakra could, potentially, be formed into _anything_. However, it could only do so, so long as the user perceived it to be that way. To be able to manipulate chakra fully, not only did you need an innate ability, but every inch of your mind must agree with what you were creating. It was one of the reasons why creating new jutsus was so difficult; what you wanted to happen, you may not believe would happen and thus you could not make it happen. It was _that_ reason that you didn't see a lot of hot ice users, or cold lava users.

The human mind perceived things as either _this_ way or _that _way. Normally, this was created by what we see in nature, and so when an ice-user creates ice, they know that natural ice is cold and thus their own ice is cold.

It was an interesting base.

And I wanted to—and intended to—abuse it.

I knew, consciously, I _knew_ I could do something different. Subconsciously, however... Even if I could block away what I perceived to be a natural occurrence (and thus forcing my chakra to mold in that manner), I would still reject it to some extent.

What I wanted, and what I had in mind...

Well.

I knew Kakashi said to never try and make the impossible possible, but...

I'll be damned if I didn't at least _try_.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I breathed out a small sigh, flexing my numb hand and staring at the pile of rubble.

I smiled.

Kakashi gave a chuckle from behind me, placing a hand on top of my head. "Well done, Nao-chan. It certainly is _powerful_, but you definitely lack control..."

My smile took a more sheepish edge as I stared at the numerous craters and piles of rubble in the clearing. "Yeah..."

"It'll be interesting to see just how far you can go with that," Kakashi murmured.

I flexed my hand again, holding it up before my face in a fist.

I had a feeling I would go pretty far.

I clenched my fist tightly.

After all, never before had I felt so _strong._

(Maybe I was strong _enough, _now?)

(No, no, who was I kidding?)

(You can never be strong _enough)_

_(But I will never stop trying)_

* * *

_And that's my take on chakra. I grew up with Pokemon, so it always felt weird that lightning kicked ground's ass in this manner. Also a brief insight into the shinobi villages, I intend to elaborate more on them, later._

_**Answer**: __Live action? Bones. Animated? Teen Titans will forever hold a spot in my heart. A choice between the two? Teen Titans. :3 I would choose Doctor Who over Bones, but then they got rid of David Tennant, so... D: I'm sure I'll start picking up on the series when I finish Bones, but until then..._

**_Question:_**_ Biggest plot-hole in Naruto that you can think of? Or at least that one plot-hole that bugs you the most._

_***Rubs back of head sheepishly* There may or may not be an** **update change for July 13th, this Saturday**, due to the fact that it's my birthday. If my spectacular beta is up for it, I should post earlier on that Saturday with this story, _Decaying Bluebells, Sakura _and I will post a special one-shot. So. Yeah. Happy birthday for me. :)_

_Reviews are **love**!_


	15. Arc V - Behind

_**Disclaimer: **Only Nao is my own in this story._

**_Warning:_**_ Fighting. Fighting. Death._

**_Beta:_**_ Kalafina94_

* * *

"We're going to be late," I told Kakashi as the three of us sped away from what was once our training ground for the month towards the village.

"Probably," Kakashi said, "but I'm not worried. They'll hold off the matches for Sasuke. It pays to have an Uchiha with you to use as an excuse."

"So glad I could be of assistance," Sasuke said dryly from the other side of Kakashi.

Kakashi only shrugged.

I bit my lip and continued on, my mind reeling from the thought of the exams, as well as from my month long training session with Kakashi.

To say it was eventful and _painful_ would be an understatement. In the morning, Kakashi would put us through a series of exhausting drills to improve our speed and agility and he would continue to do so until we were nearly ready to drop dead. Of course, we never dropped _dead,_ but we certainly dropped. After a brief—emphasis on _brief_—break, we would move onto jutsu training.

I had discovered I had lightning and water affinities and Sasuke had fire and lightning. While Kakashi worked with Sasuke on the Chidori, I fumbled clumsily with my own jutsu.

I had one in mind, but dear, sweet Ramen King, I _sucked_.

In theory I was to push my chakra into the air and condense it into water. The water would be manipulated into a sword or a single long blade with no hilt or handle. I would then mix my lightning chakra on with a twist. Instead of crackling, like the Chidori, and being extremely _hot_, I would condense and _freeze_ it with my water.

I was abusing the neutral properties of chakra, trying to push the limits of the boundaries to the natural world. It was... hard. I had taken advantage of my Yamanaka roots and placed several blocks in my subconscious to help me perceive lightning as something _cold_ and not _hot_. There was still, however, a general wrongness to it that I couldn't shake or block. I could change my chakra into its aquarius form, but it would not take the form of a sword. It seemed to like drooping down into the form of a whip (but it was too short to actually be a whip). Adding lightning in the mix didn't hinder or improve the form... and when I attempted to change it from_ hot _to _cold..._

Well.

There was exploding.

The painful part.

I could hold my jutsu for about thirty seconds before it exploded in my face, freezing cold and leaving me mostly numb for the majority of the day. It wasn't lethal (Kakashi made sure to emphasize on using my chakra in a very mild manner, as what I was doing was rather risky), but it was still _annoying_.

To say I was cranky and very displeased would have been an understatement.

However, I'll be damned if gave up and let that mocking jutsu win.

Still feeling a twinge of annoyance, I pushed more chakra into my feet and sped up.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Barely, apparently, we had made it in time. Kakashi and Sasuke appeared in a swirl of leaves in the center of the arena, while I appeared next to Naruto. He gave me a grin and slung an arm around my shoulders. While the proctor scolded Kakashi for his tardiness, Naruto filled me in on everything that had happened.

He had won his fight with Neji(naturally). Shikamaru forfeited after fighting with Temari for _hours_, Kankurō forfeited before he and Shino even fought, and now they had just been waiting for Sasuke to show up. When he was done and Sasuke began his fight with Gaara, I filled Naruto in on what had transpired during my training.

He listened intently with keen interest upon describing my new jutsu.

"This view sucks," Naruto said at the end of my story and we lapsed into silence and watched Sasuke fight Gaara.

I had to agree. We were too close to the actual arena that every time dust kicked up our entire view was obscured.

"We can go find Kakashi-sensei and sit with him," I suggested then turned to Shikamaru. "Nii-chan, you want to come along, too?"

"You'd get lost if I didn't," Shikamaru sighed.

I smiled and Naruto only grinned.

We both knew he was right.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Feathers," I murmured, staring up at the white things that fell silently over the arena. Suspicion clawed at me as I noticed more than one civilian had fallen asleep when the feathers had begun to fall. Moving my hand up, I let out a burst of chakra, repelling the apparent genjutsu. The feathers dispelled.

Naruto and Shikamaru mimicked my action, all of us frowning.

Kakashi's eye narrowed, still staring at where Sasuke had left quickly in pursuit of Gaara.

He turned to us. "We don't have a lot of time. A genjutsu this widely placed can only mean one thing: invasion. While normally I would have you stay here and help, I don't trust Sasuke to play it cool against Gaara. You three need to go after him."

"Aw man," Shikamaru muttered. "I knew I should have stayed down there. Maybe I would have gotten a free nap out of it."

"We would have still found you," Naruto told him. "We're just that spiteful."

Shikamaru gave a sort of groan and sighed.

Kakashi bit into his thumb before moving his hands quickly. He slammed his right hand into the ground, summoning up a familiar dog.

"Pakkun-san," I said, blinking in surprise. I had only met the dog once or twice when he had come to deliver a message for Kakashi.

"Nao-chan," Pakkun said. "Kakashi, what's going on?"

"I need you to take these three and go after Sasuke. Make sure they bring him back. We'll need all the help we can get if this really is an invasion."

"No problem. Alright brats—and Nao-chan—let's go."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"We're being followed," Pakkun said, his eyes narrowed in mild frustration as he led us through the Konoha forest.

"How many?" Shikamaru asked, a frown marring his face.

"Nine… no… ten. The other one is further back," Pakkun replied after sniffing the air.

"Level?" Naruto inquired.

"Chūnin or Jōnin."

The three of us traveled in silence.

"Can we out run them?" I asked hesitantly.

"No."

Subdubed silence fell upon us and I furrowed my brow. My stomach knotted as I carefully calculated multiple scenarios. After mulling it over for a bit, I spoke up.

"I'll stay behind and ambush them," I said.

"No," Naruto disagreed immediately.

Shikamaru's eyes closed. "She's the only one of us with full chakra reserves and no injuries."

"No," Naruto said again.

"Naruto-kun," I murmured. "I'll be fine. I have a plan. Trust me, okay?"

Naruto hesitated. My stomach flip flopped with nerves, but I shoved aside my nervousness. These people were nothing like _that man_. I had a good chance of taking them if my plan worked. I had all the things necessary for it _to_ work.

"Fine," Naruto muttered. "If you die, I'm resurrecting you somehow just to kick your ass."

I smiled. "Deal."

I stopped on a tree branch and my two brothers carried on, Pakkun leading them away. I dropped down to the forest floor, rummaging through my pocket before procuring a small scroll. I moved carefully and set the scroll a little ways from me, hiding it effectively and unrolling it slightly.

It was a storage scroll. At my specific burst of chakra from within a .15 mile radius (roughly .240 kilometers), it would activate. Water would flow out of it discreetly and cover an area as large as the arena. It was a scroll Kakashi had given me to use in my final round. While my jutsu wasn't perfect, I could still manipulate my chakra into electricity. He had hoped that I would avoid using my jutsu (and thus hurting myself) and rely on the scroll, as well as my lightning chakra.

I stepped away from the scroll, backing up to a tree and falling on my butt. I pushed chakra into my back and slightly lifted myself up the ground before sticking myself to the tree. Low enough no one would notice I wasn't touching the ground, but high enough so I wasn't actually touching.

Next, I flexed my foot experimentally before bending it at an odd angle.

I suppose it paid to be double jointed.

I stared at my foot that appeared to be broken and shuddered.

Still creeped the hell out of me, though.

I placed my hands around my ankle and bit my lip, creasing my brow. I widened my eyes and attempted to look very much like a scared little rabbit.

It did not take long for our pursuers to reach me.

Dressed in dark grey clothing that covered every part of their body—with the exception of their eyes—they landed in the clearing, their backs turned to the scroll and facing me.

My eyes widened and I gave a pitiful whimper.

"Please don't hurt me," I said, releasing a subtle burst of chakra. Already, thick, slow water poured out of the scroll and inched towards them.

"Sorry, girlie," one of them sneered. "It's nothing personal, but you know how it is."

My eyes widened and I thought if they were any larger, they might pop out of my head. "Oh please, no."

The water had reached nearly half of them, and they never noticed. I suppose that's what they get for wearing footwear that actually thoroughly covered your foot and calf. They had no way to feel what was happening right underneath their feet.

He took a step forward, and a small splat was heard. Curious he, along with the others, looked down to find themselves standing in a large area of water.

I let out a slow breath, pushing my chakra and molding it. It took the form of a slack whip, the water dangling from it. Light glowed brightly from it and a sort of low _hum_ came from it. Nothing like the sharp crackling of the Chidori. It was soft, deep and almost lulling.

My whip sagged and already, I could feel the unsteady rhythm it took. I had only a second to act, and I used it.

I flicked my jutsu towards them, towards the water and prayed to whoever was listening that it wouldn't explode.

It would seem no one was listening, or I was just very much disliked.

The jutsu exploded, but it made no sound. Light enveloped me and a searing coldness burned through me. The coldness traveled up through my arm along with sharp prickling pain, followed by numbness My concentration was lost and I fell to the electricity filled water, my eyes widening at the sheer power that coursed through me. Vaguely and almost deafly, I could hear the other shinobi screaming.

The sensation passed and I struggled to breath for a moment, shaking violently. A feeling I had become acquainted to during the past month, but I had been in the water for a second and they so much longer. I only got the last bit of the explosion, thankfully.

I stared, bleary-eyed the nine bodies lying in a giant water puddle.

I shuddered, staring more closely at them. I could not stop the shiver that crawled up my spine as I realized they were not breathing.

A moment passed as I awaited for the horror of what I had done to settle in over me.

But that moment passed and no horror came with it. Just resignation.

(_In the before time, that would have been bad, bad, bad.)_

I wondered if there was something wrong with me.

The thought was fleeting as it could not have lasted long. For it was at the end of that moment that I realized there were _nine_ corpses. There were supposed to be _ten_ pursuers. Either one slipped by me or one would be showing up very soon.

And here I was, shaking uncontrollably. I glanced at my right arm, the arm of which I used the whip with. It was shaking even worse and I had no feeling in it. I winced, recalling the first time this had happened and I panicked. Kakashi assured me his Chidori caused similar effects when he first tried testing it out. It was one of the down sides to creating lightning jutsus.

I was virtually a free target.

The thought did not bring fear into me, as it normally would have. I suspected my body was too tired to bother with stirring up such emotions, so I only sat there and hoped the effects would wear off before they got there.

No such luck.

The tenth pursuer landed before me, his eyes narrowed into furious slits.

Before I could even blink though, a familiar Jōnin kicked him in the head as he landed on top of him.

The Jōnin grinned at me.

"Hi, Asuma-sensei," I greeted my sister's sensei.

Asuma chuckled. "Just in time. I saw your light… thing. Nearly lit up the entire forest and came as quick as I could. Glad to see I wasn't too late."

"I am, too," I told him sincerely.

"What's wrong with your arm?" Asuma asked.

"Oh," I said. "I'm making a new jutsu and it went wrong."

Asuma winced sympathetically. "Can you use it?"

I looked at it, frowning thoughtfully. "Not for a few more hours."

"Then we better get you to the hospital," Asuma said. "You're going to be useless in this invasion if you can't even fight."

I inwardly winced at the word _useless,_ but let it slide. He was right and I knew it. I was cocky in thinking I could use my new jutsu when I _knew_ it wouldn't work. I should have gone with Kakashi's original intentions, but I was just being foolish. Now I was paying the price.

Oh well. At least it wasn't a lethal price.

This time.

I frowned as Asuma stooped down and helped me up. I took his offered hand with my left hand and kicked off into the trees.

It would appear I hadn't developed enough to take Kakashi's first critism very well. He warned me ignorance and arrogance lead to many deaths of good shinobi and kunoichi and here I was displaying such things again.

For a mature mind, I was certainly a bit of an inner narcissist. Or perhaps I was just being bratty? Perhaps some childish part of me wanted depserately to make my own jutsu and for it to _work_, so I could not only prove to myself that I could do it... But I could prove to Ka—

"Naruto-kun and Nii-chan went ahead of me to bring Sasuke back," I told Asuma as we moved.

Asuma frowned. "They're on their own. I need to get back to fighting off the invasion. I only came out here to make sure your light thing wasn't some sort of surprise weapon from Orochimaru; he already summoned snakes in the village."

I looked over at the village and noticed there were indeed giant snakes.

I frowned at taking a closer look.

"Are they… are they wearing _bibs_?" I asked incredulously.

"They are."

"Are they… _eating people_?"

"They're trying to."

"Someone has a sick humor."

"_Everyone_ has a sick humor," Asuma corrected.

… Touché.

* * *

_A brief touching over with Nao's ability. I hate reading the invasion part in every story. Well, not _every _story, but in most. Simply because it's just so... very... overdone. That, and there are a lot of limitations to what can be acted upon without screwing over Shippuden to the point where it's completely AU. If the third lives, odds are, they wouldn't even send for Tsunade in the first place. Just sayin'. They didn't send for her before, why would they send for her when she wasn't needed desperately? I didn't see her come back after Kurama and Tobi's temper-tantrum, and the invasion wasn't nearly as bad as _that_. Imagine Shippuden without Tsunade. _

_A._

_U._

_Anyway, that's it._

_You can thank my awesome beta for getting this chapter done so early, so I could post it on my b-day. :) Thank you, Kalafina94!_

**_Answer: _**_How in the hell did Kakashi become a Chuunin at age six... and then again at the same age as Rin? _

**_Question:_**_ Scariest animal (not bug) to you, and why?_

_Reviews are **love**!_


	16. Arc VI - Hate

_**Disclaimer: **If only Naruto was mine... but alas... it is not..._

**_Warning:_**_ ... Akatsuki._

**_Beta:_**_ Kalafina94_

* * *

The invasion was over and the funeral was ready.

The three of us, dressed in all black, walked quietly through the dark streets of Konoha. Naruto and Sasuke still sported bruises and scratches from their tag battle against Gaara, but both of them bore their wounds proudly. To them, it was like coming home with a war trophy (I was just thankful there was a home to come back to).

My hands were tucked in theirs and somehow, they felt so small. As the small family we were, we moved through the streets silently, arriving at the funeral.

My other family was all in black and stood next to Chōji's and Shikamaru's family. Other shinobi and kunoichi of all sorts were all lined up in rows. Quietly, the three of us joined in a single row, staring blankly towards the front as some old man read off memorized lines.

I paid him no heed, staring down at our hands.

It was a moment like this that I remembered how small I was compared to my friends. I was so used to being on equal grounds to them, but really, I was only just a small child to them. My right hand was wrapped in gauze with special ointment applied to it. The nurse was a little confused to how I got _frostbite_ from lightning, but I didn't feel the need to explain and she didn't feel the need to ask further.

I looked up at the dark sky, the clouds looming above us. I looked back down at the pictures, the many rows of them that had lined up so neatly on the covered tables.

Many more lives were lost. Another stone would have to be made.

I closed my eyes and thought of Naomi; the girl who had saved my mother, who not once have I met, but indirectly allowed me to live. I thought of her and how all these other people would be just like her. I thought of how all these shinobi and kunoichi sacrificed themselves to save their own loved ones and, in the process, might have allowed a new life to bloom.

I felt a strong sense of gratitude for them, along with a mixture of sadness.

I wondered when the time came, would I be joining them in such a way? Would I be able to sacrifice my own life for the safety of others?

It seemed like a very worthy death.

(_But shouldn't I be with them already? Did I not deserve to rest? Was my failure... was my failure too much?)_

As rain began to drizzle down from the sky, falling over us, I felt a small frown tug at my lips.

I looked at Sasuke and Naruto, my friends and in some way, family.

I paused. No. Not quite. We were missing someone.

My eyes scanned the area, not finding that someone. I felt my frown deepen.

When it came time for us to go home, I told them I would return shortly and to not wait up.

I headed away from home, my destination set in my mind.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Just as I thought.

He stood in front of the memorial stone, not minding the pouring rain that pelted down on him or the freezing wind that blew it. He stared at it, lost in his own thoughts and no hint of light in his eye. Dressed in all black, his clothes clung to his skin, showing just how soaked he was.

I moved quietly before I reached out and took his freezing hand.

He looked up at me, away from the stone. Flat black eyes met with warm pale blue eyes.

I smiled at him and tugged him lightly.

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei," I said. "Let's go home."

He stared at me another moment as life slowly returned to his eye. He squeezed my hand.

"Maa. Alright."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"So Naruto already left with Jiraiya," Kakashi murmured. Not even a day after the funeral was Naruto whisked away by the seal master, off on some quest. I remembered how he came barreling into our home, excited about learning a new jutsu. I remembered Sasuke commenting it was about time he learned _something_. Naruto waved him off, too excited for his journey. All of that transpired that very morning.

Now, Kakashi and I were wandering the streets of Konoha, intent on finding lunch for ourselves before we tracked down Sasuke and Kakashi trained the two of us.

Along the path, Kakashi paused in front of a tea shop, his eye narrowing slightly as he scanned the people inside. My eyes followed his gaze, stopping short one one very strange figure and one _very_ familiar one.

Black cloaks with red clouds.

I'd seen that before…

I'd seen it before, hadn't I?

No… that couldn't be right…

"Here?" I asked softly, almost absently, my brow furrowed in concentration as I tried to recall where I had seen the cloaks before.

"Mn," Kakashi hummed. "I'm not sure. You still have a bit of a sweet tooth, though, don't you, Nao?"

"A-Ah, yes," I answered distractedly, a frown tugging on my lips.

Where had I seen those cloaks before?

Kakashi eyed me a heartbeat before his gaze swung away from me, towards something out of my peripheral vision. "Well. You two certainly to be getting along well."

I tore my gaze away from the curious cloaks and looked to find Asuma and Kurenai heading towards us. At his words, Kurenai blushed lightly and looked away. "Idiot. Anko just asked me to pick up some rice dumplings for her."

"What are you doing here?" Asuma asked curiously, his eyes falling on me.

"Nao and I decided to grab some lunch before Sasuke joined us," Kakashi explained easily, his eye fell towards the cloaked strangers, narrowing.

Slightly alarmed at the subtle signal he had given, I followed Asuma's and Kurenai's intent gazes back towards the cloaked figures, though the Jōnin carried on the conversation as if everything was perfectly normal.

"Well, it's not like you to be waiting for someone," Asuma said smoothly.

Before Kakashi could reply though, Sasuke appeared next to us. His arm brushed across my own and I looked up, startled.

"Nao managed to drag you away from your sulking for lunch so soon?" Sasuke asked, a single eyebrow quirking up.

"I was _not_ sulking," Kakashi muttered. "Mourning and sulking are two entirely different things."

Sasuke's lips quirked into a smirk. I would have laughed at Kakashi's indignation, but I found myself too distracted by the cloaks. They were on the tip of my tongue—

I blinked my eyes as my gaze swung back to them and away from Sasuke, but I found them gone.

What…?

Sasuke followed my gaze and frowned. "You know I don't have a sweet tooth, Nao."

"But _I_ do," I murmured. "And you said I could choose…"

Sasuke sighed.

"You don't?" Kakashi inquired, his eyes locking with Asuma and Kurenai. He gave a small nod and the two of them flickered away. I frowned at this, exchanging curious looks with Sasuke. "Actually… why don't you two go ahead and order something? I'll be back."

As Kakashi flickered away, my brow furrowed. "Sasuke-kun… I, um… I have to go check something. Order me some sweet tea with sweet dumplings, please and thank you?"

"Sure, but—"

I turned on my heel and chased after Kakashi.

Somehow, I got the nagging feeling if I followed him, I would find those cloaks again.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I perched on a single tree branch, staring down in horror at Itachi and a strange yet so _darn_ familiar shark man as they battled Asuma and Kurenai. I had masked my chakra to the best of my ability, I would assume so long as no one was looking for me specifically, I would be alright.

The blue man grinned anxiously at Asuma, a massive peculiar sword in his grasp. Itachi stared down dispassionately at Kurenai, who kneeled before him in the water, glaring at him hatefully.

"You live up to your reputation," Itachi said softly, "but…"

"But this is it for you," Kakashi said as he landed behind Itachi.

The shark man lurched forward, swinging his blade dangerously quick at Asuma. Asuma leapt back, making a few attacks of his own, but they were both moving too fast for me to really tell. The shark man leaped away from Asuma, a slight glare on his face and his hands moved quickly—faster than what I would have considered _possible_.

The water from the canal shifted and bubbled and two serpents dove out of it as Kakashi mimicked and copied the man's move.

It was all so… so… (familiar)

I'd seen this…

I knew I had!

The serpents collided and my face screwed up in concentration, momentarily forgetting the battle.

I had seen this.

_Where had I seen this?!_

"Hatake… Kakashi…"

Itachi's voice pulled me back from my growing frantic thoughts as he almost glared at Kakashi. Almost, of course, because Itachi seemed adamant about remaining indifferent and apathetic to everything.

I had seen this before… I had seen this before… How, how, how?

_Past life, perhaps?_

How could I have possibly known about something that was happening now—in the present—before it was going to happen? That was not possible. That was illogical and irrational, yet… yet…

My gut seemed to demand of me to admit the very unlikely action. That somehow I had known the future and forgotten it.

But that wasn't quite it. I was merely saying I was _familiar_ with this. That doesn't mean—I don't know—I just—

"You two! Don't look into his eyes!"

My head jerked up at Kakashi's frantic order and locked onto the eyes of Itachi.

_And it all rushed back._

_Susano'oAmaterasuSharinganRinnegan.__  
_

Heart in throat, I lurched away from my tree branch, dive bombing towards the three of them. Kurenai and Asuma immediately closed their eyes and Kakashi continued his order. "Don't open your eyes. If you see his eyes right now, you're dead."

I landed behind Kakashi and he immediately tensed, but did not turn at my familiar chakra presence. Itachi's eyes slid over, but I was already in motion. I raised my leg and jammed my foot into Kakashi's knees.

He gave a strangled shout and fell backwards.

I pushed my chakra, already molding it into that stupid jutsu that just wouldn't work for me. I threw it up in the air and it exploded with a loud, and _bright,_ spark.

I looked at Itachi's forehead, not daring to meet his eyes. "An explosion that big will have the ANBU here in minutes. Leave. Please… Itachi-san."

His gaze fell on me and sure enough, I could already feel the sharp rise of chakra levels, mostly Jōnin, curious for the explosion. A few were heading towards us.

"An entire squad of ANBU would be more troublesome to face than this mission is worth," Itachi said quietly. "Kisame, I believe it is best to move on."

"Pity. But alright, Itachi-san."

My eyes trailed down and I stared into the regular Sharingan eyes of Itachi.

"He doesn't hate you," I whispered quietly.

Itachi's eyes flashed, but he did not make any other sign that he heard me. Faster than what my eyes could follow—he was gone.

I looked down at the furious gaze of Kakashi.

"What. Did. You. Think. You. Were. Doing?" Kakashi hissed as he stood up. Kurenai and Asuma opened their eyes, deciding that the threat was gone, and stared at me in mild shock and curiosity.

"No time," I whispered, slightly frantic. Panic was already bubbling in my chest and I grabbed Kakashi's hand, pulling him roughly away. "Naru. We have to find Naru! Please, please, Kakashi! Yell at me later, but Naru needs me now!"

_J__ūbiKuramaNarutoAkatsukiAkatsukiAkatsuki_

Perhaps it was the panic in my eyes, the frantic tone in my voice, or the pleading look on my face. Perhaps it was all three; I didn't know and didn't care. At that moment, Kakashi gave me a slow nod and I shot him the most grateful look I could muster before I turned tail and sprinted full speed towards Naruto.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I ran down the hallway, ducking around the corner and stopping short of the door the lady at the front desk had given me. I pounded frantically on it, but Kakashi stopped me, placing a firm hand on my shoulder.

I was shaking. Not much, but just enough to be noticeable. I was terrified. What if it was different this time? What if they got Naruto this time around because I had interfered and the battle wasn't as long? What if they _already_ had him? What if…?

The door opened, revealing a very disgruntled Naruto and relief crashed on me. I lurched away from Kakashi's grasp and threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. Naruto, clearly caught off guard, looked up at Kakashi with a questioning gaze.

Kakashi didn't bother answering his unspoken question, but even he seemed a bit relieved as well. Naruto frowned, but returned my hug slightly.

I pulled back. "We have to go. _Now_."

"What?" Naruto blinked.

"Questions later, Naruto," Kakashi said brusquely.

"Out the window," I said, tugging Naruto away from the door. "We have to find Jiraiya. I can't _believe he left you here alone!_"

My voice had raised to a near shriek of annoyance. Kakashi didn't bother to tell me to lower my voice. I could tell he was a little annoyed by it as well.

"Would someone _please_ explain to me what is going on?" Naruto asked as I pulled him to the window. I still didn't answer, focused on opening the stupid _jammed_ window. In the end, I growled with frustration and kicked it open. I then hopped out of it, onto the roof right below it.

Naruto gave me an odd look, but followed me down, with Kakashi right behind us.

"Where's Jiraiya?" I asked immediately.

"I don't know—with some lady—"

"Kakashi-sensei," I interrupted. "Can you find him?"

"My nose might not be as sharp as Pakkun's, but I know enough," Kakashi said, already scanning the crowd. "I found him. Let's go."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

The moment Naruto was back with Jiraiya, I felt such an insane amount of relief, I literally just dropped to the ground, not really caring how odd it must have looked. The sheer relief of knowing he was safe again was enough.

This lasted about a minute before I felt a frown tug down at my lips.

Why was I relieved again?

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"So," Kakashi drawled as we slowly headed back to town. "I must say, I wasn't expecting this afternoon to be so busy."

"I wasn't either," I admitted. "I—"

"Kakashi, my Eternal Rival!" Gai—a man in all green spandex, like a grown up version of… Lee—landed before us and gave us a very odd pose. "I finally found you! But alas, I have the most unyouthful news."

"What is it Gai?" Kakashi asked dryly, clearly not really in the mood for him.

"It's your student, the Uchiha—"

"Sasuke-kun?" I interrupted, panic bubbling inside me once again.

Gai nodded. "It seems Itachi attacked him almost an hour ago. We have in the hospital, but it looks rough. He's been placed in a difficult genjutsu."

"Why?" I demanded immediately. "They wanted Naruto—not—not—"

"Witnesses say Itachi told him he didn't have enough hate."

My entire body froze.

_"He doesn't hate you."_

_He doesn't hate you._

_He doesn't hate you…_

My hands flew up to my mouth and my face twisted in horror. Kakashi's eyes flew to mine as realization dawned on his face. My knees seemed to turn to mush and my stomach heaved dangerously. Heart constricting, I fell down to my knees.

Gai appeared horrified by my action, and most surprised. Kakashi fell down beside me, arms immediately wrapping around me to keep me from falling flat on my face.

Could I…?

_He doesn't hate you…_

Could I have, perhaps…?

_He doesn't hate you…_

Did I… Did I just sentence (my) Sasuke to this fate?

_He doesn't hate you…_

Was I the one to blame?

_He doesn't hate you…_

_But_

_He_

_Might_

_Hate_

_Me._

* * *

_Tsk, tsk... it looks like Nao said a little too much. In hopes of assuaging a guilty man's conscience by letting him know he's still loved... she accidentally sentenced Sasuke to a coma. Whoopsie._

_**Answer: **Anything with dark intent. I don't really have a specific fear of any one creature (bugs aside), but if they have the intent to do harm, then yeah, I'm more than a little worried about them._

_**Question: **How many of you are caught up in the latest manga chapters? What are your thoughts? If you don't read the manga... what are your thoughts about the latest anime episode(s)?_

**_Preview:_ **

"Papa," I began, feeling suddenly unsure, "is it possible for me to have… more than one ability?"

"What do you mean?" Papa asked.

I hesitated again before I described the strange memory.

_Why do I keep forgetting to put previews on chapters? D:_

_Reviews are **love**!_


	17. Arc VII - Train

**Disclaim_er:_**_... I think you already know what I'm going to say..._

**_Warning: _**_Uhhh... Language and gambling._

**_Beta:_**_ Kalanfina94_

* * *

I stared blankly at the corpse-like body of Sasuke. Although his chest moved up and down to show he was breathing, there was no other sign of life from him. My legs were curled up, my knees tucked in, where I rested my chin atop them. Even my hoodie couldn't seem to provide much comfort for me at the moment.

The door to the room slid open, but I paid it no attention. Most likely another nurse—

"It's been three days."

Or perhaps not.

I blinked slowly, tearing my gaze away from Sasuke and towards Kakashi who was eyeing me carefully.

"And?" I asked softly.

"Enough moping," he said flatly. "Naruto and Jiraiya _will_ bring back Tsunade and he _will_ be cured. Jiraiya just sent back the letter and he tells me Naruto is most anxious to find her now."

A small wave of relief fell over me and I gave a small smile. "That's wonderful."

Kakashi nodded slowly. "It is. Now enough moping. We're training. Now."

I blinked up in surprise, both at the commanding tone in his voice and at the abruptness. "In what?"

"Two things," Kakashi said, holding up a single finger. "Well, three technically. One, we will be working on your jutsu. Two, we will begin—or well, _you_ will begin—the study of Fūinjutsu. Naruto wanted Jiraiya to pass on that reminder to you, and three, once a week, you will continue your clan training with Inoichi."

I gave a small nod. "… Alright. Where do we begin?"

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I sat across from Papa, sipping on the juice Momma had given me after our training lesson. Ino and her team were currently out on a C-Ranked mission that caused temporary leave of the village, leaving the house unnaturally quiet without her.

"So," Papa said, "how's training with Kakashi going?"

I winced, unknowingly clutching my bandaged arm. "Annoying. Creating a stabilizer to keep the chakra at the temperature I want is much easier said than done."

Papa nodded sympathetically. "I actually meant the sealing training."

"Oh… head ache inducing. I get the theory behind it and such, but it's just… tiring. I'm sure it'll click one day and become much easier, but for the moment, it kind of seems impossible."

Papa chuckled, though only for a moment before his face and tone became more somber. "You shouldn't have to master it in the first place."

My hand crept up to my neck where the Curse Mark was. Memories flashed through my head—Falling to the ground—Sasuke in need—Panic—Hysteria—A black hole—

I paused at that last memory. While it was true that I had not reflected much on that time—mostly because I truly did not want to—I could not deny something strange had happened. I looked up at Papa and hesitated.

"Papa," I began, feeling suddenly unsure, "is it possible for me to have… more than one ability?"

"What do you mean?" Papa asked.

I hesitated again before I described the strange memory.

Papa frowned, listening intently. When I was done, his frown had deepened. "We've already discussed this, kitten. One with your... ability always develops a second one. In normal cases, it doesn't manifest until late teens, but... Well, I suppose you've just uncovered your final ability to your... special kekkai genkai."

"Normal cases? So then... why did mine manifest now? Am... Am I really so different from the clan? What exactly... _why_ exactly did it manifest in such a way?" I inquired.

Papa gave a small smile. "In theory, human capabilities are only limited to our imagination and desperation, but that's only in theory. It can be rumored that kekkai genkais were created, not because it was a mishap in genes, but because it was a necessity. They say that you only see a shinobi's true potential with his own life on the line."

"A morbid theory," I muttered.

"This is a morbid world," Papa said.

No truer words have been spoken before.

"I suspect your ability... this... _black hole—_which you will be the first in our clan to use such an ability—manifested itself because you needed it the most at that moment. That's only a guess, as none of this can be proven. I'm not sure how to assist you in training with this hole, but I can discuss it with the Elders and I'm sure we can think of something."

I nodded at his words, accepting them. "... So then... I remember... when you first told me of my first ability, you mentioned a second one manifesting, but that it would fade away with time...?"

"Correct. On average you will keep it for a few years, and when it reaches its highest potential, it will begin to rapidly decline in both power and use until it is gone completely."

"Why is that?"

Papa gave a small shrug. "Our main theory is because our brains were not suited to hold the _first _unique ability. That it holds _two_ completely separate abilities that it was not genetically designed to do, more than likely places a strain on it. It's why you receive a headache every time you use the first of your abilities, your brain—despite the... mutation—was not made to use such power."

"I wasn't in pain when I used the... hole."

"You were in a state of panic. I doubt you would have noticed."

I nodded at his words, but I couldn't quite agree with them.

No. No... I did not feel pain when I used the black hole. What I felt... What I felt was something my gut told me was much worse.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Slowly, but surely, a routine took its place in the course of little over a month. In the mornings until lunch, I would train with Kakashi, specifically on my new jutsu and worked on stabilizing it. Apparently, the reason it was a whip and not a sword was the same reason it exploded within seconds of its creation, _and _why I couldn't control the temperature very well. It needed something to help stabilize itself and lock the two elements together perfectly and completely dominate its foreign structure and intentions. Which really was even harder than it already seemed to be. I couldn't tell you the number of times I would lose usage of one of my arms for the remainder of the day.

In the afternoons to early evenings, I would study Fūinjutsu in the library. Kakashi was only there to make sure I stayed on focus and to help me muddle through some of it. Mind you, Kakashi wasn't much of a help as he never trained in sealing except the bare minimum of explosive tags and such, but his more alert and intelligent mind than my own seemed to better grasp and explain the problems to me than the scrolls ever did.

In the week day evenings, I would sit with Sasuke in the hospital, and Kakashi would run off and brood about Obito.

Sorry, _mourn_.

Weekend evenings, I would train with Papa and attempt to recreate the same black hole as I had made in the forest.

No such luck.

But I wasn't too concerned about it. I had enough on my plate, thank you very much.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

When Naruto returned, it was with a busty blonde who claimed to be Tsunade. Imagine my surprise one evening, after I finished eating dinner and nearly dozed off at Sasuke's side, when all of a sudden the door flew open and Naruto jumped inside.

He leaped across the room and threw his arms around me in a surprise hug. I could only blink in astonishment before my mind caught up with what was happening. My arms snaked around him and I hugged him tightly in return.

When he pulled back, I noticed the lady—Tsunade—standing at the door frame, looking amused.

"So _you're_ Nao," was all she said.

Feeling a little shy, I felt my cheeks warm and I ducked my head.

"Yes," I mumbled.

"Aw, don't be shy for Tsunade-bāchan," Naruto said with an eye roll. "I'll make sure she doesn't bite you."

"She bites?" I asked incredulously before realizing what I said and flushing.

Tsunade, much to my relief, chuckled good naturedly and entered the room. "So this is the Uchiha?"

"That's Teme," Naruto confirmed.

"Mmm," Tsunade hummed, striding across the room and placing a hand over his forehead. Her hand flickered a pale green before she retracted it.

Sasuke's brow furrowed and his eyes slowly creaked open.

My eye widened significantly and I jumped from my spot to collide with Sasuke as he was sitting up. He let out a grunt and fell back down on the bed, almost sighing. I buried my nose against him and I suddenly I could Naruto clamber atop us. I almost chuckled—it seemed forever since we had a group hug like this—but didn't.

Sasuke seemed to struggle a bit beneath us before he freed his arms and patted both of our backs.

"Welcome back, Sasuke-kun," I whispered.

"It's good to be back Nao," he replied.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

A month since Naruto returned and my jutsu had finally… well.

Instead of a _whip,_ I get a katana with a floppy end and it exploded after a minute. Sometimes a little less, but on the bright side, I _could _still use it like a sword… just… for briefs periods of time… that's all…

Anyway, after a month, Sasuke was finally deemed acceptable to rejoin the team and we were all _finally_ heading off on yet another mission that took us outside the village…

Well. It was a B-ranked mission, and from the location and such, we had to switch into different attire. No more comfort hoodie for me—it would have been far too hot.

Instead, I wore a short white t-shirt dress and light blue shorts underneath it. The dress had a hood on it and, in a way, reminded me of my hoodie. I wore the white gloves Kakashi gave me when we first began our training (he explained they were made of special material to minimize the damage done to me by my own chakra, but honestly I couldn't tell the difference... but it was the thought that counts). My _hitai-ate _was tied around my upper right arm and I was wearing my goggles over my eyes.

Why was I wearing my goggles over my eyes?

Because it was _hot _and _bright_.

We—Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and I—were walking to where we were supposed to meet our charges in the middle of a _desert_. The goggles, bless Obito, were specially made to deflect the sun's rays and keep my eyes nice and cool. Or at least shaded.

I snuck a peak at Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto wore his usual colors of orange and blue. His orange jumpsuit traded out for cut off orange sweats—they ended above his knees and a single orange vest. Underneath the vest was a blue shirt. He kept his kunai pouch on his right upper thigh, while mine was hidden underneath my dress on my own upper thigh.

Sasuke wore a breezy dark blue shirt/jacket—it was zippable up the front, but I doubt he was wearing anything underneath(seriously, way too hot)—with the Uchiha crest blazed upon the back. Black shorts accompanied the shirt, and his hands tucked into his his pockets.

Kakashi, I had sympathetically noticed, wore nearly the exact same thing. The only difference that his long sleeves were not shortened to his elbows and his pants fell just above his ankles.

"It's hot," Naruto moaned, his feet dragging across the ground.

Too hot to bother nodding my head in agreement, I only grunted in affirmation. Sasuke mimicked my action with a grunt of his own. Kakashi remained quiet, but I had a feeling he wholeheartedly agreed with us.

"At least we're almost to the rendezvous point," I murmured, lifting my head up at the cloudless blue sky.

"Our client is a major VIP, right?" Naruto asked, still dragging his feet.

"That's what Tsunade-sama said," Kakashi answered.

"How much do you want to bet they're narcissistic assholes?" Sasuke grumbled, probably getting a little irritated from the heat.

"Not _every_ VIP is an asshole like you," Naruto retorted. "I'll take that bet."

"I'm glad you admit I'm a VIP."

"That's only because _I'm_ a V_V_IP and anyone associated with _me_ is automatically a VIP!"

"... Idiot."

I gave a tired sigh. A few more minutes of walking, and we stopped, noticing a small dot in the distance moving towards us. The closer it came, the more I realized that it was our targets. It was a _giant_ caravan—horse drawn and everything. It was a train of carriages, each packed with junk—I, I mean… _materialistic items_.

My eye widened in surprise and Naruto growled in annoyance, fishing through his pocket and handing Sasuke a small wad of money. Why the money wasn't in his frog purse, I couldn't say.

Kakashi noticed the exchange. "How does that prove they're assholes?"

"Excessive buying almost always means arrogance and arrogance _does_ always mean assholes," Naruto explained. Sasuke gave a smirk.

"You can't argue that," I pointed out as the train drew closer.

As the train of carriages came by us, almost three-fourths of the way down (five entire minutes worth of horses at trotting pace pulling carriages) did the train stop. A single, elaborately decorated carriage stopped before us and its door swung open and an… obese man stepped out.

Or tried to. He struggled a bit, fitting through the door.

"What is all this stuff?" Naruto mumbled, not noticing the man.

"This is all the stuff I bought!" the man exclaimed happily. "There were so many things that I splurged on while traveling, and before I knew it, I had this much." The man moved to stand in front of us, warm chocolate brown eyes twinkling happily as he smiled. "I'm the prince of the Moon Country, Tsuki Michiru. And you are?"

"We came from Konoha," Kakashi informed him. "I'm the captain, Hatake Kakashi. This is Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto gave a foxy grin at the man.

"Yamanaka Nao."

I felt my cheeks warm slightly, but I gave the seemingly-kind man a smile. He didn't _seem_ like an arrogant person…

"And Uchiha Sasuke."

"Hn."

"We four will be escorting you until you return home," Kakashi said.

"I see. I'll be counting on you, then," Michiru said with yet another kind smile, though his smile became more curious as he stepped towards me. Bending slightly, he seemed to peer at me. "You're pretty cute! Are you really a shinobi, even though you're so cute?"

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged very _not_ amused looks. My smile slipped from my face, becoming more of a grimace.

"She's young, but she's excellent," Kakashi said smoothly.

"Oh? It's nice to meet you," Michiru said, offering his hand.

My smile returned, deciding that he meant no harm. I suppose I shouldn't be surprise. At first glance, I probably didn't look like much. I took his large hand and gave it a firm shake. "The pleasure is mine, sir."

He then held my hand, smiling a little less kind a little more creepily. Naruto and Sasuke bristled beside me and I gave Michiru a wide smile—just like my sister taught me. Then I took the next lesson my sister taught me, and focused chakra into my hand to promptly crush his grip.

He let out not a single sound, but his face twisted up into pain and he struggled to get away. Only after I allowed himself to nearly break every bone in his hand did I release, still smiling.

Ino had the same problem on her second mission outside the village. She said if it was a charge, we had to smile and hurt them discreetly. She opted digging her nails in the skin during a handshake, but I opted to crush the bones.

Well, not _really_ crush the bones. Then our mission wouldn't go over as smoothly, but…

"And she's quite capable," Kakashi added, seeming to smile mockingly at Michiru.

Beside me, Naruto did his best not to laugh, managing to smother his snickers. Sasuke only gave a taunting smirk at the man.

"I see," Michiru said, clutching his hand to his chest and wincing.

The amusement died down, however, when a suction-tipped arrow landed squarely on Naruto's leaf symbol on his _hitai-ate_. From the force and surprise, he fell back, but was only down for a second before jumping back up and pulling a kunai out and searching frantically for the source.

"You might have died from that just now."

Our eyes came towards the source of the sound, falling on a boy who looked no older than me. He was putting away a small wooden bow as he stepped lightly from the carriage and approached us with a sort of regal arrogance.

"Papa, are you sure things will be all right with these guys?" he inquired, not looking at us. "Won't they be useless? Especially that guy."

Naruto bristled, preparing to open his mouth, but Sasuke promptly smacked him over the head. Naruto rounded on him, preparing to retaliate, but apparently the look Sasuke gave Naruto was enough to shut him up.

"This is my son, Hikaru," Michiru said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "He's a little demon, forgive me."

"Nice to meet you, Hikaru-kun," Kakashi greeted.

I dipped my head, smiling at the boy, echoing Kakashi. "Nice to meet you, Hikaru-kun."

Hikaru's eyes landed on me for what seemed to be the first time. His face warmed, a blush forming across his cheeks and he promptly looked away from me.

"Well then, let's get going," Michiru said cheerily, already heading back to the carriage.

Hikaru shot me one last look, his cheeks still a little red, before he trotted after his father.

I nudged Naruto and Sasuke. Sasuke ruffled my hair before slowly trailing behind Kakashi as the carriage began to move again.

* * *

_Yeah I know. _Technically _this movie didn't occur until after the whole Sasuke-retrieval arc thing, but this was actually one of my favorite Part I movies and I wanted to do it instead of the Land of Snow/Spring one. Besides, I kind of need to do this movie so that way Nao can have a very... very... interesting flashback. _

**_Answer:_**_ Yep. I stay up to date on the Manga and all I can say is... Damn HashiMada is practically Canon. ;3 And... TOBI! BABYPLZNO! _

**_Question: _**_One place in the entire world you want to go... and who would you want to go with?_

**_Preview:_ **

I huddled tightly against Chamu—I had released him from his cage and lead him a little ways from the group, along with Kiki for some fresh air. It would be a long voyage before we reached the island.

Which was the problem.

I stared out at the vast blue sea and once more, I found an unnerving sense of fear wash over me.

_Reviews are **love**!_


	18. Arc VII - Drowning

_**Disclaimer: **NAO IS SO MY TOY. EVERYTHING ELSE IS KISHIMOTO'S_

**_Warning: _**_Panic._

**_Beta:_**_ Kalafina94_

* * *

"_In the Moon Country, there is an island called Mikazuki Island that has an everlasting summer. The country seems very prosperous and wealthy. The island has plenty of natural resources and the beautiful beaches are popular tourist attractions. There are also plenty of gambling establishments, and the area is lively year-round. I'd like to go there sometime."_

"_Baa-chan, you're such a gambling addict."_

"_Hmph! The mission is to escort the prince home after he's been traveling around to various smaller countries. Seems that the previous escorts were treated pretty harshly, and bailed on the job."_

"_Sounds like a hassle."_

"_Well, do your best. This is an important mission, as I'd usually assign all Jounin-class shinobi to it. Proceed with caution!"_

"_Hai!"_

As I finished recalling the mission details, I curled up on my sleeping bag next to Kakashi. The caravan had finished eating for the night and every one was already packed and off to sleep—with the exception of us, of course. No, I had first watch and I was waiting for the others to head back in so they could sleep.

When Naruto and Sasuke arrived, I baded them goodnight and headed off. I passed Kakashi on my way out, bading him goodnight as well. Finally, I found my perch, a little higher up on a gathering of rocks.

I sat down and watched.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

A week of traveling and only a handful of bandits dared attack us, but they were weak and slightly pathetic so we defeated them with ease. After a week, we were well out of the desert and currently traveling alongside a grassy plain.

In front of me, Kakashi talked with the prince. Naruto walked on the opposite side of me on the caravan, a little further back and Sasuke brought up the rear. Hiruku, seemed adamant about playing a sort of pink gaming device and then occasionally looking up at me and blushing brightly.

Naruto landed beside me, surprising me.

"Nao," Naruto hummed. "Switch positions with me. I'm tired of watching a horse's ass."

I spluttered with laughter at the abruptness, but gave a grin. "Alright, Naruto-kun. Ja ne, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi cocked his head back. "Ja ne, Nao."

I kicked off from my position and jumped up and over the carriages.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

A few more hours of walking and we reached a village, and thus reached a circus.

We pulled up around the circus, each of us moving in position to secure the area. Seeing how Hiraku apparently pissed Naruto off about something, he didn't want to guard him anymore. I opted to sit near the princes to guard and Kakashi allowed the trade.

So while Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi sat a little ways from us, I sat a bench below Hiraku and Michiru, watching the circus perform.

I must admit that it was incredibly entertaining and I found myself enjoying the show. It was the last event, though, that captured my interest as it took a surprising turn.

"Now, the moment you've all been waiting for," the host declared, stepping into a single spot light. "Time for the rare Siberian tiger's appearance!"

The spotlight vanished, a drum roll taking present as a rainbow of lights flickered around the stadium. The lights vanished and a single spot light fell to the far upper left hand corner where a _large_ gray Siberian tiger stood. The tiger roared, causing the audience to shout fearfully, but no one dared to leave.

I gasped and leaned forward eagerly, my eyes widened with excitement. The tiger leaped from its corner, all the way down to the floor in the center of the ring.

"Amazing," I breathed, staring at the tiger with a look of wonderment. I had always wanted a pet… I wondered if Sasuke would let me keep one in the Uchiha district? Not like we didn't have enough room… Ino didn't care too much for pets (as she knew full and well how they shed like crazy from one of her civilian friends, so having one at home would be a no-go).

"Behold! The Siberian tiger, Chamū! And Chamū's partner, Kiki!"

From the name—Kiki—a small monkey sommersaulted from midair virtually out of nowhere and landed atop Cham's head, squealing cutely.

The audience cheered.

"Now please enjoy their performance!"

I clapped and cheered along with the rest of the audience as the two of them performed impressive stunts. At the end of their performance, they had an archer shoot an apple from Kiki's hands atop of Chamū's head.

Then, to raise the stakes, Chamū stood up on its back legs. Kiki perched atop Cham's head, holding up yet another apple and spinning it around. Chamū swayed slightly and the archer poised to shoot again. The host was saying something about how it was dangerous and such…

But what surprised me most of all was when the apple was knocked out and away—that didn't surprise me. Any half decent shinobi could have done that with a kunai—but not by an pointed arrow tip, but by a suction cupped arrow… from Hikaru.

Everyone seemed to freeze from the action, turning the spotlight and their eyes to Hikaru. I stared up at him, impressed. It _was_ impressive from a civilian.

"That was easy," he muttered to himself, not seeming to notice or care the spotlight was on him.

"That was amazing, young man," the host amended, "but what about this one?"

The host snapped his fingers and Chamū took off, running around the ring with Kiki swaying atop and holding a spinning apple, outstretched above the two of them.

"How about it? If you can hit this one, I'll give you a reward!"

Hikaru cocked another arrow and took aim, watching unblinkingly. He shot the apple off.

The audience roared with approval and I couldn't stop myself from beaming at him. He caught my gaze, his face flaring up and looking away sharply. The host approached him, smiling. "That was very good, young man."

"It was nothing," Hikaru mumbled.

"I need to give you a reward, though," the host mused, seeming to think.

"I want that."

Hikaru had pointed to Chamū.

In the end, they had to buy the whole circus.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

As the circus packed up, I opted to leave guarding to Kakashi and snuck away. It took a while, but in the end I found Chamū, sitting freely in the shade atop some boxes with Kiki beside him. I smiled at him, and he looked up, his eyes narrowing.

I held up my fingers, remembering what Shikamaru had told me when approaching wild animals. Chamū wasn't wild, of course, but better to treat him as such than get off on the wrong foot.

Chamū sniffed the air and I lowered myself, almost squatting. He sniffed it again before dropping his head back down to his paws. My smile widened and I stepped towards him, slowly. My arm remained outstretched, my hand wide and open.

He made no hostile movement, so as I neared him, carefully brushing my fingers across his soft fur.

"You're so pretty," I whispered, running my fingers through his fur.

"Ne, ne, Nao?" Naruto peeked around the corner.

Chamū eyed him disdainfully.

Sasuke followed behind Naruto, raising an eyebrow. "Nao, stop playing with the cat. We have to go."

I gave a sigh, brushing my hand across the fur one last time before leaving the beautiful cat alone and returning to my guard duties.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Much to my dismay, Chamū had to stay locked up for the rest of the trip, but I _was_ relieved to find that Kakashi allowed me to guard his point in the train. Therefore, I sat right beside his cage, mindlessly playing with his fur through the bars of the cage and sneaking him the occasional treat.

So I was a cat person, sue me.

Another few days had passed before we reached the port city. We had a few hours before we could set sail—as more vessels had to be summoned to carry over _all_ of this junk. Sorry, _materialistic possessions_. So, Hikaru and his father left on a little errand with Naruto and Kakashi guarding him. Sasuke and I stayed behind to guard the cargo.

Fine by me.

Though…

There was one _tiny_ thing bugging me.

I huddled tightly against Chamū—I had released him from his cage and lead him a little ways from the group, along with Kiki, for some fresh air. It would be a long voyage before we reached the island.

Which was the problem.

I stared out at the vast blue sea and once more, I found an unnerving sense of fear wash over me.

Every time I looked out at the ocean, I felt phsysicaly sick by fear and horror, but I couldn't explain it. It was familiar, in a way. Not this ocean, but the ocean in general, if that made any sense. As if I had known any other ocean.

But it was the ocean and the thought of going out on it that sent me shuddering.

Instinctively, I huddled closer to Chamū. Chamū gave a rumbling purr, his tail flickering.

Suddenly, his body stiffened and he growled.

I looked up, tearing my gaze from the ocean to find Kakashi walking towards me. I placed a hand on Chamū and Kiki mimicked the action. Chamū hissed, but did not growl, choosing instead to flick his tail in annoyance and rest his massive head on his massive paws.

"There you are," Kakashi said. "We'll be taking off in half an hour."

I blanched.

Kakashi seemed to frown. "Is something wrong, Nao?"

I shifted. "I… I don't know. I just… it seems so… I'm scared. I don't know why, but I'm _scared_."

Kakashi's eye crinkled into a smile and he moved to ruffle my hair. "Don't worry. I won't let anyone hurt you."

_ It's not them I'm worried about hurting me, though._

_(It's me)_

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

A day out on the boat, and night had fallen. Everyone danced above on the deck, enjoying themselves, but I just couldn't bring myself to join the party. I sat far beneath the deck, curled up in the hammock.

Fear swelled inside my gut, unexplainable. The strongest sense of familiaraity came over me, but I couldn't place it. And I didn't want to. This wasn't a welcoming familiaraity. It was a horrible thing. It was a horrible memory.

I was teetering again. Hyperventilating and rocking back and forth, my eyes screwed shut.

_(They told you not to go out)_

I curled up in on myself, closing my eyes and willing the boat to somehow move faster.

_(They told you the storm was coming. They told you. They told you. They told you)_

Goosebumps crawled up and down my arms.

_(But you didn't listen)_

I shook my head, trying to clear out the voice.

_(You ignored them, and you took _them _out with you and look what happened. Look at what you did to yourself. Look what you nearly did to_ them)

A loud sound of thunder echoed around us and I froze.

_(It's happening again…)_

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

The boat swayed violently, forcing me out of my hammock. My entire body was stiff and frozen with fear. I could hear the pounding of footsteps above and all around me as people rushed around the boat.

The fear was bubbling inside of me. The memory (_that horrible, horrible memory)_ bubbled with it.

My mind, a borderline between here and _there_. Here and _there._ Hereandtherehereandtherehereandthere. Flashes of memories—of faces—of names—of scenes—of _it_.

One moment, I was here, on the boat shaking violently as fear and adrenaline coursed through me, the next I was—

_Momma! Papa! When will they be here? The Coast Guard—you sent the word for them didn't you?_

A whimper escaped me.

_Jaymie? Momma, where's Jaymie? Jaymie?!_

The boat lurched violently again and I was moving. The lights flickered and the room was thrown into darkness. I was moving. Running. Sprinting to the door. Had to go. Had to save himlittlebrother mylittlebrother—

_Rushing past Momma and Papa. The boat lurched and rain pelted harshly against me. I couldn't see. The rain was making me blind and the wind was making me deaf. It was_ me_ who ignored the warnings. It was such a beautiful day that very morning! I thought__—_I thought perhaps it would remain as such and I just wanted a break, I just wanted to spend time with my only family. Was that so wrong? Why was this happening?

_A wave crashed against the boat, climbing higher and crashing down on us. I slipped and fell, but I scrambled back up on my feet. Heart hammering, I—_

A light bulb burst out in front of me, glass showering down to the ground, but I couldn't see it. I couldn't feel it. I ran across it—not noticing or caring at the way my bare feet crunched into the glass—down the darkened hallway to—

_Jumping down and through. Jaymie? Jaymie, where are you!? The boat moved again and I fell to the floor, a sharp pain jabbing down my ankle._

Turn left here. Right there. Down there. Up there.

_There! Jaymie. Take my hand, good boy, good boy. Shh, shh. Don't worry! Big sissy is here to help, so don't cry. Please. Please, don't cry anymore. I promise, I won't let anything happen to you._

My heart lurched and I ran, faster, bursting out into a dead sprint. The boat swayed and my balance escaped me. I tumbled to the floor.

_Go. Go, Jaymie, go. I'll catch up to you later. I promise._

Frantically, I scrambled back up and sprinted again, turning and twisting down the dark tight halls. Thunder rumbled across the sky—

_My ankle throbbed painfully. I couldn't see. It was too dark. Jaymie ran ahead—he was on deck now with Momma and Papa. He would be safer there. I had to make sure he was okay; it was _my _fault he was out here in the first place. I would only slow him down if I had went up there with him, my ankle... _

_ The halls were slowly flooding in. The water was freezing, but I had to wade through it now. I couldn't see. I was scared. So very scared._

Up the stairs I went, two by two, nearing the deck—

_I was shivering so terribly as I finally made it on the deck. The boat swayed violently as a massive wave crashed against it. I could see lights, though. Red. White. I could hear a sound—not thunder—a helicopter! I could see Jaymie on a ladder, Momma behind him. Papa grabbing hold of the ladder and outstretching a hand towards me._

_He was so close. So very close, I knew I could have reached him if I could jump towards him._

_ I smiled, my heart lurching up in my throat and I scrambled to take the hand—but—I—was—too—far—when—it—came._

_ A wave. So massive. So huge. So black. So _DaRk_._

_ It fell across the deck and a force unlike any I had seen swept me away, away from the hand—_

_TheHandWasTooFar._

I burst across the deck, shoving the chaos away and scrambling around. I couldn't see what they were doing. I ran around them, away from them towards the back end of the deck, towards the emptyemptyempty back end.

_I fell back, and my fear returned. Frantically and desperately I struggled against the force—_

Thunder rolled—

_—Lightning flashed, right across the sky as I flew over the deck and into the dark, dark waters._

I crumpled to the ground, the sobs built up in my chest seeming to release. I curled up in myself, and I cried and I cried.

_I._

_ Did._

_ Not._

_ Resurface._

* * *

_Here's the thing. I think any death, no matter what (unless you, like, fall asleep peacefully in your bed and just don't wake up...) would be traumatic. If you died from getting hit from a car, I would imagine you would get nervous being around cars if you were in Nao's situation. Or if you died from a gunshot... Guns would probably make you nervous. The point I'm trying to say is... any death... no matter what... would be traumatic. I think._

_In Nao's case, she nearly ended up killing her only family (and she still doesn't know if they made it out alive in that storm) and was beaten down by the waves before drowning. Because of such, she's nervous about the sea, and even more nervous about losing someone else when she could help them. **That's **why she kept jumping in front of them, because she nearly indirectly killed people precious to her before (and she still doesn't know if they made it out alive or not) and as such, she's **terrified **of doing it again._

_**Answer: **I want to go to... No clue, actually. Who would I want to go with? Anyone who makes me laugh and happy. :d_

_**Question: **The most kick-ass thing you have ever seen in your CHILDHOOD? YouTube videos do *not* count._

_**Preview: **_

_Reviews are **love**!_


	19. Arc VII - Rest

**_Disclaimer: _**_Nao is the only thing that is mine..._

**_Warning:_**_ Fighting. Death. Usual._

**_Beta:_**_ Kalafina94_

* * *

Kakashi found me curled up and soaking wet by myself the following morning. The sun was shining brightly and the sky was a beautiful clear blue with lovely white fluffy clouds, but I wouldn't... couldn't... have noticed. I stared off elsewhere, my mind replaying it over and overandover_andov_—

"Nao."

I turned, so slowly, towards the sound and found Kakashi kneeling in front of me, his expression unreadable.

"You were scared."

I nodded slowly, wordlessly.

Kakashi closed his eye briefly before opening it again. With a small sigh, he moved to sit next to me, pressing his back against the wet wall that I was curled up against.

"It's okay to be scared," Kakashi said after a moment. "Everyone is afraid of something."

I didn't bother responding.

Kakashi glanced at me through the corner of his eye, sighing again. He shifted slightly, pulling off his Jounin jacket and placing it over me. "Stop shivering."

I didn't realize I was shivering.

"Sorry," I whispered hoarsely.

Kakashi didn't reply, just sat back again.

A moment passed.

"I'm not any good at this stuff," Kakashi sighed. "Where's Kurenai when you need her? Or hell… Anko… well, maybe not _Anko_ per say, but…" he cleared his throat and shifted slightly. "Sometimes it's best to face your fears head on."

Another moment passed.

"That's not what I was afraid of. The storm. The ship. The ocean. I'm not afraid of _those_."

Kakashi turned his gaze on me. "What are you afraid of?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know."

"I don't know. _I'm_ not afraid of the storm, but _she_ is."

"Who?"

_(Me.)_

"I don't know."

"I see."

We lapsed into silence.

I shifted slightly. In a quiet voice I asked, "Can I… May I… sl… sleep?"

"I daresay you _could_."

"Here," I clarified. "I mean… I just… I don't want to be alone right now. I promise I'll be better when I wake up."

Kakashi turned his head, his single eye seeming almost analytical as he stared at me.

"I believe you will be, too," Kakashi said softly. "Three hours tops is the best I can give you."

"Thank you," I whispered.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I giggled at Chamū, who rolled lazily on his back. Hikaru sat beside me, smiling happily as Kiki ran around Chamū. After my nap with Kakashi, I awoke feeling much better than I had when I fell asleep. With many thanks, I headed off to guard duty for Hikaru. Not before I ran into Naruto, who gave me the run down on everything that had transpired—how Hikaru risked his life to save Chamū's when the boat's violent swaying in the storm had knocked him overboard and in return, Chamū became affectionate for him and such.

"That was a brave thing to do," I told Hikaru, smiling at him.

Hikaru's face once again took on a familiar red and he promptly looked away. "Yeah, well…"

"Naru-kun says he considers you a friend now, even Sasuke-kun," I said. "And I must confess, I'm very happy that you saved Chamū, so I would like to ask you if it would be alright if I was your friend, as well?"

Hikaru's face somehow became redder and he ducked his head. "Y-Yeah. O-Okay."

I nodded sagely. "Alright, Hikaru-kun."

"A-Alright… Nao-chan."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I yawned tiredly, my head resting on Sasuke's shoulder. We sat on the railing of the ship, watching as the island neared us. Naruto had gone off to grab some food for us.

"I can't wait until this mission is over," Sasuke muttered.

"That's because you're antisocial and hate leaving home," I retorted.

"Obviously."

"Can I have a pet?"

"You cannot have a Siberian tiger."

"Who said anything about a Siberian tiger?"

"I see how you are with Chamū. We are not getting a Siberian tiger."

"What about a regular tiger?"

"No."

"Leopard?"

"No."

"Lion?"

"No."

"Panther? They're black…"

"… Maybe."

I suppressed a snicker, settling for a large grin.

"Hey, whatssup?" Naruto asked, swinging over the railings to sit next to me.

"We're getting a panther," I told him.

"I didn't say _yes_."

"You didn't say _no_, either."

"Why do we want a panther?" Naruto asked, frowning. "Why can't we get a… uh, I don't know, a dog or something?"

"Because I want a cat," I clarified.

Naruto shuddered. "I don't."

"Why not?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

"One word: Torra."

Somehow the appeal of having a pet cat lost its appeal.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Right, let's be off."

I sat atop the royal carriage. The boat had docked and everything was currently being taken off the boat in preparation to the trip to the palace. The princes resided in the horse drawn carriage, Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke making up each side. I sat at the top of it, eyeing everything.

For such a rumored to be prestigious city, it seemed incredibly deserted at the port.

As the carriage began to move and we moved with it, a suspicious gnawing feeling wormed its way in my gut.

It was deserted.

No, seriously.

_Empty_.

As we walked through the supposed-to-be bustling streets—there was nothing. Not even the shops were open.

Through the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw life—movement of a shadow.

I looked down at Kakashi and he caught my eye, giving a slow nod. He had seen it, too.

Our journey continued and still no life was shown as we reached the palace. A gorgeous castle, but virtually empty and deserted. As the princes climbed out, both looking a little crestfallen, a plump man walked out onto the balcony of the palace.

"Ah, Shabadaba," Hikaru's father said.

"Well, well, if it isn't Michiru," Shabadaba said, his voice somehow seeming slimy. "Back from your travels? I'm sure you must be exhausted. You and young Hikaru are well, I hope?"

"Yes, thank you Shabadaba," Michiru replied. "What's going on in town? Where is everyone? There was no one to meet us."

The man seemed to look down upon the princes, his expression becoming unreadable. My suspicion doubled and I tensed myself, already inching closer to Hikaru. Hikaru glanced towards me, his brow furrowed, but he started to inch closer to me, as well.

"Shabadaba?" Michiru asked tentatively. "… Where is my father? Is something wrong? Why didn't he come?"

"The king," drawled Shabadaba, an almost gleeful note in his voice, "is dead."

Michiru's face contorted with shock as a rush of soldiers came out of the palace, surrounding us in a matter of seconds. My eyes narrowed and I placed myself directly in front of Hikaru, fixing my posture.

"I rule the Moon Country now," Shabadaba said, "which means there's no need for you now, prince. Kill them all!"

"All of you, defend," Kakashi ordered.

I pushed chakra into my hand, forming my hum of a jutsu. The lightning hummed brightly and I leaped from my spot atop the carriage, spinning. I threw the half-sword, half-whip jutsu away from me towards the bulk of soldiers. It exploded with a bright flash.

Every soldier it had touched dropped dead. Or passed out. I couldn't tell from the distance and I _really_ didn't care. There was some part of me that was _furious _at the betrayel, and that part was even more furious when I saw Hikaru's crushed face. In an almost vindictive way, I _hoped _they were dead.

I landed in front of Hikaru and Michiru, shifting postures as Naruto and Sasuke doubled-tagged and knocked out another major bulk. I couldn't see Kakashi, but I knew he was there. A few of the soldiers hesitated coming towards me, my right hand flickering with the dangerous chakra, but they still came.

The blade formed in my hand, dropping into a whip at the end. I raised it up as a single steel sword came crashing down. The electricity flowed from my chakra, using the sword as a conductor, and traveled up the soldier's arm and to his body. He gave a strangled cry, stumbling away from me and dropping the sword. His body shook violently and yet another idiotic soldier rushed towards me.

"Prince Michiru, Hikaru-kun, get back in the carriage," I ordered, kicking away as the soldier neared me.

Kakashi landed beside me, landing a solid kick against a soldier who tried to come up behind me. The princes had entered the carriage.

"Drive that carriage out of here," Kakashi commanded.

The frightened man driving gave a stumbled nod and whipped the horses into a canter.

Soldiers rushed after the carriage, but my lightning was already building up. I threw it towards the back end of them, it exploded with another bright light. Only a few stayed in pursuit of the carriage then and I rushed after them.

Another strange vehicle was coming up ahead towards the carriage.

Reinforcements.

But for which side?

A man leaped out and rushed towards a mass of soldiers, pulling out his sword and attacking them.

Our side.

Good.

Sasuke twisted up into the air, a massive fireball pouring out of his mouth and burning away another massive bulk of soldiers.

Kakashi landed beside the lone man, whispering something. The man nodded and ran to the carriage, taking hold of it and steering it away from the battle ground. I leaped atop the carriage, Sasuke landing right beside me.

I scooped down and grabbed Naruto's outstretched hand as he ran, and pulled him up.

Kakashi stayed behind for a moment, his hands in a flurry of movements before he slammed them down. The ground erupted before him, throwing the majority of the soldiers off balance. He leaped away and quickly caught up to us, landing behind me.

"Thanks for the help," the man said once the palace was out of sight. "I'm sorry I couldn't get the word out soon enough for what happened here."

"Where are we headed?" Kakashi asked.

"I have men stationed in the mountains. We'll go there for now."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I stood outside the cave, wanting to give them as much privacy as possible. To think… the king of this land was betrayed by his ministers because his ministers were corrupted with greed. Not uncommon, exactly, but to see it happen first-hand seemed… well, not pleasant. And Shabadaba planned to over-throw the king and by chance, the plot was discovered and the king was informed. He had realized the time had come to confront the ministers and, as such, sent his son and grandson on a tour to many lands to protect them.

Once they were safely out of the way, he moved to settle it, but Shabadaba had already hired mercenary shinobi to secure his place. They were too late and only a handful made it out with the king… just barely… the king's injuries were too grave, and he slipped into a coma.

And that's where I, Kakashi, and Sasuke took a role.

I had pulled back the sheet, uncovering his 'wounds'.

I stared in morbid fascination. Half of his chest and his entire right arm… was turned to stone.

"One of the shinobi… he possesses this jutsu…"

"That turns people to stone," Sasuke finished, his eyes narrowing. "An earth style jutsu."

I placed a hand on it, my gnawing on my bottom lip. "If that's true, shouldn't the counter-active be a lightning-based jutsu?"

"In theory," Kakashi said, "but to use a lightning style attack on a human body could have devastating effects."

"_Could_ have," I amended, "but not necessarily… look at us, we've been struck by our own lightning styles so many times…"

"Yes, but we're much more fit than…"

"Can you fix him?" Michiru interrupted, wide anxious eyes pleading.

"Maybe," Sasuke answered him. "What if we just did a little bit at a time?"

"We would need to focus it in different areas, though," I said, frowning. "If we put all of it in one area, only that area will be cured. If it's curable at all."

"Well, it's a good thing we have more than one lightning user," Sasuke retorted.

I shrugged. "I'm up for it."

"It wouldn't hurt," Kakashi admitted.

"Man, I wish I had lightning style," Naruto muttered.

"Sorry, losers aren't allowed," Sasuke said.

Naruto shot him a dirty look.

I placed both my hands over his heart and Sasuke knelt down beside me, while Kakashi moved to squat next to Sasuke. Kakashi placed both his hands on the king's shoulder and Sasuke placed both his hands on the king's side.

"Little by little?" I asked.

"Little by little," Sasuke confirmed.

So little by little we went.

In the end, only his arm remained stone, but none of us were medical shinobi, so we couldn't do much better than undo what had been turned to stone. However, it was enough for one last conversation with the king.

So I stood outside the cave as they talked. The dying old man and his precious children.

Somehow it seemed too private to intrude.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Night had fallen and the order to evacuate the princes away from the land had been given. As the captain (the man that had sent the reinforcements for us) tried to drag Michiru's body towards the ocean to the boat, he resisted all the way. Hikaru and a handful of guards stood a little ways from us as we tried to drag his body again.

That was when my spine tingled with a sixth sense and I heard the sharp whizzing of a kunai rushing by.

I leaped away, just in time to see the ground explode beneath us. When the sand cleared, three shinobi stood in its place.

"Are you guys stupid or what?" came an incredibly high-pitched voice from the smallest shinobi.

"We saw light coming from the coast," added a deep voice from the largest shinobi.

"It was obvious you made arrangements with the ships for the prince to escape. Now why don't you hand over that man and the brat?" asked another deep-voiced shinobi.

"Like hell! As if anyone's gonna hand them over to _you_," Naruto declared.

"You're full of spunk, brat," he responded.

And faster than I could blink, he appeared behind Naruto, slamming his fist against his cheek. Sasuke switched positions, his eyes swirling into the Sharingan. Naruto soared away from us and the man rushed after him, delivering a solid kick against him, kicking him up into the air.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed into anger and he rushed after them, but was quickly intercepted by the largest one. The great brute raised a huge meaty fist against Sasuke, but he ducked out of the way.

Before I could assist either of them, the smallest one rushed towards me.

"You're the one with the exploding light," she hissed, a smile on her face as she kicked towards me.

I back flipped away from her, skidding across the sand a bit. As I flew back, my nose caught a whiff of a strong sense of perfume. Too much of it, if you asked me.

"And you're the one with hedgehog hair," I commented.

She bristled considerably. "How _dare_ you!"

"I dare," I assured her, building up my jutsu in my right hand. She sneered at me, rushing forward.

"You wouldn't set that off, so near yourself," she replied, smirking.

"I've done it many times before," I replied as she neared. "I'm nearly used to it, but I daresay _you_ are _not_."

It exploded just as she reached it.

Cold energy washed over me, tingling up and down my arm. I was momentarily blinded and when the light cleared, I was dizzy and disoriented. I didn't put in enough power to do real damage, but it was enough to send her flying back, trembling from the override of energy and shivering from the cold.

My right hand trembled and I knew, with much reluctance, that it would be useless for the remainder of this fight. _However_, it was a blessed thing that all shinobi and kunoichi were trained to use their opposite hand nearly as well, if not just as well. With only my right hand out of commission, I may not have been able to use jutsus, but I could still kick _her _butt.

She stood up shakily, trembling from the jutsu. She glared at me furiously, her expression darkened.

Before she could do or say a thing, however, a cry of help from Michiru called my attention. He was surrounded by enemy soldiers. _When did…?_

I looked around frantically and found Naruto lying unconscious in the sand, Sasuke breathing heavily, and Kakashi with a petrified stone arm. And an entirely petrified captain—the man who had came to our aid and taken us to the mountains to the king before.

I watched in horror as the man Kakashi had been facing shattered the captain.

The larger shinobi was coming towards Hikaru and I rushed forward.

"Help me!" Hikaru cried out, trembling as the larger shinobi nearly reached him. I felt a rush of anger bubble inside my gut and I sprinted towards Hikaru, using every ounce of speed I possessed.

A rush of energy erupted a little ways from me and I stumbled. It was familiar energy. It was…

_(Ku-ra-ma_.)

My head whipped around and I found Naruto had lurched back up, his once clear blue eyes taking on a red tint and slitted, fangs protruded from his mouth and he snarled at the man. Then faster than what I could process, he had covered the distance between the two in a blink of an eye, kicking solidly against the large shinobi and sending him whirling out into the ocean.

Naruto rushed after him and kicked him back into main land, punching his jaw and forcing the man to crawl away.

The girl I had been fighting cried out in despair and rushed towards Naruto, throwing some sort of petals around her and then disappearing into them. The petals swirled around Naruto, forming a sort of vortex. Invisible knives tore away at Naruto, slicing him.

My eyes widened as I realized what was happening.

"She's a genjutsu specialist, Naru-kun!" I shouted.

Naruto bared his fangs and let out a burst of sharp chakra. The petals whirled away and she flew back, crashing roughly against the sand and skidding to the water.

My head whirled back around as I saw the soldiers running away with a struggling Michiru and I was prepared to give chase, but the trembling in my arm reminded me that taking on an entire group of mercenaries with _one_ hand was _not_ a good idea.

Instead, I turned and rushed back to Naruto, who was slowly losing the red tint in his eyes.

As I reached him, he sagged and fell forward. My arms wrapped around him and I caught him carefully, landing on my bum in the process.

Kakashi moved towards us, his right arm glowing with lightning as he undid the stone petrification.

Sasuke sat down next to me, breathing heavily and looking a little annoyed at having lost to the larger opponent.

I looked up, noticing the night sky was no longer so dark, taking an orange-ish tint to it. And noticing Hikaru's trembling lip as he stared off into the distance where they had taken his father.

I lowered my gaze, my fingers running through Naruto's hair.

Well. It would seem we had our work cut out for ourselves now.

* * *

_Ack! I forgot to say that I had more fanart!_

_Thank you very much, Miacielica-Blizzard and SnatchingSouls. Links on profile or you can check out my (Charredblossom16) dA favorites or their dA gallery._

**_Answer:_**_There was this time... when I was really little... my horse, Whimsey was a really gentle horse. Complete sweetheart (well, she had to be, otherwise my parents wouldn't let there tiny girl near here). However... However, on a particular interesting riding lesson (I had to ride a different horse, because Whimsey needed a break after an earlier session)... it was evening and I remember talking to my Mom and some of the older girls (Bridget, Lue, Christina...) and then all of a sudden we start hearing this barking and we turn and look up to the road that connects to the pastures and here we see my dad (who has NEVER rode a horse before) clinging onto Whimsey (he was supposed to just bring her in for another grooming) for his dear life and Whimsey being a very mischievous horse and galloping down the road, no stops, with all of the barn's dogs at her heels._

_It was a completely epic sight to see them run right by us. I remember thinking my dad was a complete bad-ass that day. _

**_Question:_**_ Favorite video-game? If you can't pick one, give me your top five or top seven. :)_

_Reviews are **love**!_


	20. Arc VII - Smile

**_Disclaimer: _**_I have a cat that I am sadly whipped for, but nothing else. Well. I guess Nao is mine._

**_Warning: _**_Fighting._

**_Beta: _**_Kalafina94_

* * *

I wasn't quite sure what to make of Hikaru. I admired his bravery regarding the storm, and I admired his kindness to us (after the storm, of course. Although, he was never mean to me before the story, like he was with Naruto and Sasuke... a gentleman, I suppose). However, when something as worrying as having your father kidnapped by hostile terrorists occurs... how do you approach someone?

Naruto was always the charismatic one, not I. Yet it was at Kakashi's insistence that I still talked to Hikaru even after Naruto had already cheered him up.

It seemed rather silly. When I protested such, Kakashi only insisted even more so.

I finally relented after a while, and that's how I found myself sitting next to Hiraku, silence between us.

I cleared my throat, looking over at his bright-red face. "So... you know we're going to get your father back, right?"

"Of course I do," Hiraku declared. "Naruto promised me, and he never breaks his promises."

"That's right. Naru-kun always keeps his promises," I said, smiling fondly at my friend.

"Ah... Ah, Nao-chan..." Hiraku mumbled, his face taking on a brighter hue. I felt myself frowning in concern, _Is he getting a fever?_

"Mn?"

"I was wondering..."

Sasuke entered the small grassy clearing. "There you are. It's time to go."

"Right!"

Hiraku sighed.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Saving the prince… by acting as the circus.

Well, _we_ weren't acting as a circus, of course. Kakashi would lead the circus through an act to distract the majority of people while we took the secret passage into the palace.

It was relatively uneventful getting into the palace, but once we were in, of course trouble ensured.

We headed down the hallways, my communicator buzzing in as Kakashi explained the distraction was complete and that Michiru was being held on the upper terrace. I explained the information to the others and we broke into a sprint.

We paused before the door to the front corridor, one of our soldiers slipping out and surveying the area. Once he gave the all clear, I relayed the message to Kakashi. Faintly, I could hear the music in the background come to an end as Kakashi began his own show.

Only seconds after the music ended did screams break out in front of the palace.

"That's our cue," I murmured, glancing back as Naruto moved to Hikaru.

He placed a comforting hand on the quivering boy, whispering words too quiet to be overheard. Hikaru gave a smile and nodded firmly. We headed out, quickly cutting across the room and heading up the stairs. After the first flight of stairs, we ran into the largest of the shinobi.

"Hehe, so he was right. That Ishidate is a clever one," he said, grinning and stepping forward. "He guessed that all that ruckus outside was just a diversion."

"I'll give you a diversion," Naruto said firmly, taking a step forward.

"No," Sasuke snapped. "He's mine. I need payback for that dirty trick he pulled. He won't get away with it a second time."

"Fine," Naruto said, giving a nod and heading away. He ducked behind the nearest hallway, the rest of us following behind and leaving Sasuke behind.

I wasn't concerned for Sasuke. I knew he could handle it.

Distantly, I could hear the fighting begin immediately behind us, but quickly dismissed it from my mind. It would do me no good to pay attention to those behind at this point. We ducked down another hallway and began to rapidly climb the stairs, Naruto just a pace ahead of me.

As we reached the top, I caught a sickeningly familiar stench of perfume. Following my nose, my hand flew down and I pulled out a kunai. I threw the kunai in the general direction of the stench.

The lady from before slowly became visible and Naruto faltered in his steps upon seeing her.

"Aw, how did you guess?" the lady asked with a creepy smile.

"You're wearing heavy perfume, hedgehog girl," I answered. "You guys go on ahead. I have some unfinished business to attend to here."

"Hedgehog girl?!" she hissed, bundling up her muscles for an attack. Naruto and Hikaru shot me a worried look, but complied, rushing on ahead with the others right behind them.

I leaped back just as she slammed her fist into the ground beneath me, leaving a small crater.

My right hand glowed a bright white as my jutsu began, a single long sword appeared, the end of it slopping pathetically.

She scowled furiously at me. "I'm not falling for that same trick again!"

"I find that you will indeed fall for that same trick again," I said, rushing forward.

She glowered at me, leaping back and dissolving into a flurry of petals. The petals circled around me, and I paused in my assault, looking around for her. Annoyance swelled inside of me as I realized she had masterfully hidden herself in the genjutsu.

Well, not masterfully.

I gave a careful sniff, but before I could pinpoint her exactly, a sharp stinging sensation came from my upper arm. I immediately canceled my jutsu, looking down at the bleeding scratch. Another cut came across my other arm, followed by another one on my leg.

I winced inwardly, but didn't pay them much attention. I had gone through worse pain.

I inhaled, enhancing my smell with my chakra until I found her exactly.

I released my kekkai genkai, wincing again as my concentration threatened to break from more cuts, but Papa had put me through worse things. So long as I could hold her for just a second—just long enough to cancel the jutsu—I could hit her with my original jutsu and finish this.

My chakra wrapped around her and the genjutsu was canceled.

She stared, wide-eyed in shock at me, and began to struggle violently. I found, though, compared to Orochimaru and Kakashi and Zabuza, she was laughably pathetic. I held her for another heartbeat before I willed her towards me.

She moved, roughly and jerkily towards me, falling over her own feet and landing on the floor on her face.

My jutsu was over and a slight wave of fatigue came over me, but I was already rushing to her, my sword-whip in hand. Her head jerked up from the humming sound and her eyes widened.

My jutsu sliced through her head, surprisingly neatly.

It then exploded, somehow more terribly than the other times, sending me flying back and hitting my head against the wall.

I slumped against the wall, my entire body going numb and shaking for a minute before stopping entirely. It stiffened for a heartbeat before relaxing entirely, exhaustion pressing down on it.

_It exploded after having enough pressure on it to slice through bone, _I thought, mulling over the new results. _Interesting. That's good to know. I suppose I'll have to work on that, though._

I struggled to stand up, wincing. I've had worse, though, and I was sadly starting to get very used to the numbing sensation. Slowly, but surely, I made my way to the rooftop.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

It took me a while—longer than what I would have normally liked—to reach the top, and by the time I did reach it, the fighting was over. I watched in the shadows as the son, the prince, and my dearest friend laughed with glee and relief at the corpse of the enemy.

The feelings of numbness escaped me and I continued to watch them for a while longer. Sasuke was soon at my side, watching them in silence. I peeked a glance at Sasuke, and my eye momentarily widened when I saw his expression.

"Our knuckleheaded boy  
certainly seems to have grown up so fast," I whispered quietly, smiling proudly at him.

Sasuke glanced at me, frowning.

"Just as much as you have, Sasuke-kun," I finished, smiling brightly at my other friend.

Sasuke blinked in surprise. "What? Really?"

"Mm-hmm, you two just grow in different ways, you know?" I said, motioning between the two.

Sasuke gave me a dubious look.

I just smiled though. "Maybe you can't see it, but trust me. You've come so far, Sasuke-kun. I'm really proud of you."

Sasuke's eyes widened and he sharply looked away, shoving his hands in his pocket. "... Whatever."

I giggled.

_That's right, Sasuke-kun. Compared to what you could have been... your expression... just then, watching Naruto..._

I moved a step closer to Sasuke, nudging his arm and starting to head towards the group. Sasuke hesitated a moment before following behind me.

_... it was the expression, no, the smile, of a proud brother._

(I'm so proud of you)

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I laughed happily along with Naruto as Sasuke scowled balefully at us. He was dripping wet from the water balloon arrow Hikaru had launched at him earlier. The four of us were currently enjoying the rest of our… 'mission' that would last for the rest of month… with pay, of course… on the beautiful beach.

Kakashi was off in the shade, reading a mature book, but seemed very much at ease. Hikaru was riding Chamū when he shot the arrow, and now the large cat was racing away from a very vengeful Uchiha.

Naurto and I shared a look before we bursted out laughing again.

"I love this mission," Naruto said happily.

I gave him a large grin, my eyes switching to the ocean—lingering a moment or two longer than necessary—before I looked back around my friends.

"It's not that bad, actually."

* * *

**_Answer: _**_Favorite game, hum?_

_In no particular order: Dragon Age 2, Pokemon (all of them... except Diamond and Pearl), Lego Harry Potter (all years), Fable II and III, Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, Twin Age Summon Night, Deadpool aaaaannddd... Darksiders 2._

**_Question: _**_The one movie / book / show you will NEVER watch?_

_Reviews are __**love**__!_


	21. Arc VIII - Taken

_**Disclaimer: **Do I really have to say this?_

**_Warning:_**_ Urk. Death?_

**_Beta:_**_ Kalafina94_

* * *

A week after returning from our vacation—I mean _mission_—I found myself returning home to Naruto and Sasuke after training with Papa late one evening.

I was feeling incredibly content, as the beautiful bright sun was nearly entirely gone from the sky. It left behind only a warm violet-pink that faded into a cool indigo blue. I made little to no noise as I padded softly through the dirt path, alone.

As I took another turn, the Uchiha District now in sight, two strange shinobi landed in front of me.

Again, I felt the achingly familiar wave of _déjà vu_ come over me, but not too strongly this time. I felt two more presences appear behind me, and a frown pulled down on my lips.

In front of me were two boys. One of them had dark skin and dark hair, grinning. The other boy had pale skin and silvery-blue hair that was pulled back into a sort of ponytail. Turning my head slightly, I saw a girl with bright red hair and a large boy. They all wore similar outfits.

"Inonao, yes?" The silver-blue boy asked.

"Nao," I corrected automatically, my frown deepening. Unconsciously, I shifted into a defensive position. "How can I help you?"

"We're here on behalf of Orochimaru-sama," answered the same boy.

Immediately, I tensed, my eyes darting as I tried to calculate the nearest exits.

They all laughed.

"I wouldn't bother, bitch," sneered the red haired girl. "We'll kick your ass long before you get the chance to."

"Language," spat the large boy.

The girl only turned her sneer to him.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"You," the first boy said. "By accident, Orochimaru-sama marked you, but you _survived_. Something of which is incredibly rare… not to mention your kekkai genkai has a very strong appeal for our master, but really it's mostly about the fact that you _survived _the marking that interests our master. So very few survive, so he has even fewer test subjects regarding the mark, but you... even though you couldn't even hold the _complete _version, thus making yours more unstable and increasing your risk of dying significantly, you lived. Something he would have thought impossible..."

"And if I don't want to come with you?"

"You die."

It took all my willpower not to outwardly react to the statement.

"Oh, we won't kill you," the boy continued, grinning. "The Curse Mark will. You see this?" he held up a small glass bottle of pills. "This will complete the transition. You must have noticed how painful it was to have such a mark, yes? It's because it's incomplete. This pill will complete it."

"And if it's not complete, it will kill me, regardless of my sealing," I finished for him.

"Correct," he chuckled. "So really, you don't have a choice."

"You're wrong," I said quietly. "I would gladly give my life if it meant not betraying my dear ones, especially if it meant saving them. I took this mark for my Sasuke-kun, I do not regret that decision."

"I see," he said, his grin dropping. "Then we'll just have to use force."

I switched stances.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Shaking, I collapsed heavily on the ground, breathing shallowly. The dark boy had some sort of venomous capabilities. I barely saw him coming—he was too fast. I was bleeding heavily from a wound running up my left arm, but I paid it no heed.

The poison was kicking in. It wasn't lethal, but it would sedate me.

Already, I lost feeling in my legs.

But I was satisfied to find that they looked worse than wear as well. The silver-blue boy sported a black eye and a broken nose, I broke _two _of spider boy's arms, the girl had two black eyes, and the larger one was shaking from my chakra attack.

I had barely pulled _that_ one off. Just as he had prepared to punch me, I grabbed his arm and released my lightning chakra inside of him. No noise or visible showing, but it sure as hell probably hurt a lot.

"Stubborn bitch," the red haired girl hissed.

The silver-blue boy sneered, swooping down and popping open the pill bottle. "We can complete the sealing away from the village. But let's make her take the pill conscious; I don't feel like sticking my fingers anywhere near her mouth."

I shuddered inwardly at the thought.

He popped the pill in my mouth and rubbed my cheeks to force me to swallow it.

It went down painfully dry.

I lost all feeling in my lower body and consciousness was slipping quickly. My eyes closed. I had one hope left. Just like with Itachi…

My jutsu bubbled up around my arm, and the boy leaped back, startled.

I flopped my arm upwards and released it. It exploded with a bright light and a loud hum.

My vision darkened and I was no longer in this world.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

**(Third Person POV – Kakashi)**

Kakashi moved quietly through the hallways in the Hokage's tower. Years of routine had him on auto-pilot straight to the Hokage's office. He was tired; dead tired. He couldn't remember the last time he had to work such long hours of continuous back-to-back missions as just a Jounin. As an ANBU, sure. He would be repetitively placed on high-risk missions and allowed only an hour or so of sleep before being placed on yet _another _one. It was a tiring task, and it was the key reason why no one stayed in ANBU for more than a handful of years at a time—never mind the actual horrors that consisted inside each mission.

However, Kakashi was a retired ANBU (Who the hell was he kidding? There was no such thing as _retired _ANBU; what he was was simply an ANBU on a little break), and after years of a sort of relaxed-pacing of missions, it was especially tiring to be put on such a rigorous routine so quickly. It didn't help that he hardly had a chance to train his fresh little Genin—and he actually _enjoyed_training them, finding it therapeutic almost. Sasuke and Naruto's friendly bickering was almost calming in a way, and Nao's soft smiles and giggles at them was uplifting.

He didn't even have time to visit the Memorial Stone, and that was just unnerving.

When he opened the door to the office, his eyes flickered up to Tsunade's face, which was bent down over some papers. He slipped in quietly, not making a single noise, and stood before her.

Tsunade didn't glance up at him as she stretched out her hand towards him. Kakashi didn't hesitate in placing the papers inside her hands and she skimmed over his report.

"Excellent work, Kakashi," Tsunade said, a calculating glint in her eyes that didn't quite sit well with Kakashi.

"If I may, Hokage-sama," Kakashi began, and at her nod, he continued, "… I would like to request some time now to train my Genin."

"I can't grant that," Tsunade said, leaning back in her chair and eyeing Kakashi.

Kakashi tried not to let his shoulders slump in disappointment. "Another mission, Hokage-sama?"

"No. They aren't in the village."

Shizune glanced over at Tsunade with a worried expression, and Kakashi frowned.

"What do you mean? Did you send the three of them out on their own…? Does that mean one of them made Chuunin?"

"Yes, and no. I sent Naruto and Sasuke out, but they're under the leadership of the newly promoted Nara Shikamaru. I've also sent out Hyuuga Neji, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba. Not to mention I've called for some extra help from Sunagakure," Tsunade said, her eyes still on Kakashi.

Kakashi's lips tugged down and his mind quickly worked through what information she had provided.

"I can't send you," Tsunade continued, still eyeing him. "Not officially, of course. You're still wanted here."

"Where's Nao-chan?" Kakashi asked, praying his drawn assumption was incorrect.

"Taken."

Kakashi did not say anything else; he walked away.

He tried hard not to hear Shizune's quiet, "You did that on purpose, Tsunade-sama. You knew he would go after his students."

"I can't officially send him, Shizune. I can, however, officially note that he was unsurprisingly late for his report—and if he just so happens to be late because he was rescuing his students, what does that matter to me?"

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

Kakashi was an excellent tracker, years of experience making him so, but he couldn't be too sure, so he summoned his most trusted partner, Pakkun.

It did not take long to find the first unconscious boy, and Kakashi spent a brief time in summoning another one of his ninken and having them sent back to Konoha to send someone to gather the boy.

First, he found Chōji, then he found both Neji and Kiba next to each other, both passed out along with the corpse of another adolescent. After that, he didn't find any one else—he smelled them. He could tell Shikamaru was fighting someone to the far east of him, and Shino was just ahead of him. He could even smell Gai's student, Lee—who Tsunade did not officially send, either—but he didn't run into any of them. None smelled near death or were bleeding heavily, so Kakashi opted to focus on tracking down the student he _knew _was in danger.

Hours must have dragged on, and he could tell he was nearing the Fire Land's border. Despite being so tired, so heavily weighed down, he pressed on. Fear of losing one of his comrades spurned him to push past his limits. Fear of losing Nao just doubled his efforts. He was nearing the Valley of the End when he smelled his three students, along with a fourth unidentifiable person.

"Uh-oh," Pakkun grunted, causing Kakashi's heart to clench.

Uh-oh was an understatement. Even at maximum speed, it would take Kakashi fifteen to twenty minutes to get there, but even from the distance, Kakashi could _feel _the chakra.

The Kyuubi's chakra.

_One of the kidnappers must have pushed Naruto to the edge. He's losing control, _Kakashi reasoned, his expression grim. _Either that opponent will be completely annihilated, or…_

Kakashi broke off that line of reasoning. _No. No. Sasuke wouldn't do something as stupid as trying to restrain Naruto. Sure, Naruto would more than likely regret his actions if he _wasn't_restrained, and Sasuke knows that, and the two are close, but Sasuke wouldn't be so—_

Kakashi shook his head, grudging his line of thought. _No. He would be. The stupid idiot. He wouldn't try and restrain Naruto under normal circumstances, but with Nao in such close proximity and if Sasuke suspects for a moment that Naruto is a danger to him and Nao…_

"I just hope he doesn't try and play the hero card," Kakashi said softly.

Pakkun gave a grunt of agreement.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

**(First Person POV - Inonao)**

When I opened my eyes, I felt distinctively tired and groggy. My vision was blurred and I could feel arms wrapped around me, carrying me bridal style. I stared up, disgruntled, at the familiar face of Kakashi.

"Kaka… sensei…?" I asked, my voice sounding muffled.

Kakashi stopped his running from branch to branch and that's when I noticed Pakkun was beside him. His eye crinkled and relief seemed to wash over his face. "Nao. You had us worried."

"Sorry," I responded tiredly. "Wha… happened?"

Kakashi gave a humorless chuckle. "The moment Naruto and Sasuke saw your jutsu, they ran out and saw the area around it a little worse for wear. They reported it to Tsunade, who assigned Shikamaru to gather up followers to chase after you. Neji, Chōji, Kiba, Shino, as well as Naruto and Sasuke, composed the team. Lee later joined them, along with the Suna Siblings…"

He shook his head. "It was quite the fiasco. I only heard about it when I came back from my mission and…" Kakashi actually looked sheepish. "I summoned Pakkun without Tsunade-sama's permission and chased after everyone."

"Where… is everyone?"

"Medical corpse followed behind me," Kakashi explained. "Everyone is a little tired and is being escorted back. Sasuke and Naruto knocked themselves unconscious when Naruto… lost control and Sasuke had to… had to restrain him. The medical team is following behind us currently."

"But they're okay?" I asked, worried.

"They're fine," Kakashi assured me. "For now, let's just get you back home."

I gave a tired smile. "Thank you, Kakashi."

His eye crinkled. "Maa. Don't mention it."

"Ah... but... the other ones... the one who came here on behalf of Orochimaru...?"

"Taken care of. Don't worry, Nao. It's not going to ever happen again."

I closed my eyes, trusting his words.

* * *

_I don't care if you guys wanted this huge she-bang. While I adored watching this part on the anime, I tried and tried to write it out. I tried super hard, but you know what? It just didn't happen. No matter how many times I tried writing out all the fight scenes, I ended up hating them and scraping them. So, there. I wrote in Kakashi's POV. _

_A short sort of epilogue is next and then we're on to Shippuden. To the GOOD stuff. Where you can see the totally-awesome changes I've made. I will see if I can post the epilogue and the prologue to Shippuden on the same day. }:)_

**_Answer:_**_ I will never watch One Piece, or any harem animes (the excpetion being the Familiar of Zero). Ever. Reverse Harems are a bit iffy, but I adored the Host Club a few others, but those are just about it. One Piece for personal reasons, and harems for more of the obvious reasons. _

**_Question:_**_ What's your top three gripes, or issues regarding school / work / friends / family or holidays?_

_Reviews are **love**!_


	22. Arc VIII - Journey

**_Disclaimer: _**_Nao is the only thing that's mine._

**_Warning: _**_Hur. Hur. Surprisingly none._

**_Beta:_**_ Kalafina94_

_This is going to serve as my beginning A/N for this and the next chapter._

* * *

Two weeks since then, I found myself staring at two very sheepish boys.

"Let me get this straight," I said carefully. "Naruto-kun, _you're_ leaving on a three-year journey with Jiraiya-sama. And Sasuke-kun, _you're_ also leaving on a three-year journey with Kakashi-sensei."

They both nodded, squirming at my frown.

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked in mild disbelief.

"I wanted you to come along," Sasuke said swiftly. "But Kakashi was right in saying that two-on-one training wouldn't be as efficient as one-on-one training and since…"

_… Since Naruto lost control, I need to be stronger to not only restrain him, but I also have to be stronger to face my brother._

I gave a slow nod, accepting this, then I turned to look at Naruto.

"Pervy-Sage won't let me take you with us!" Naruto blurted out. "He said we're going to be moving around a lot and he doesn't want any more kids than necessary! I'm sorry! I tried to convince him otherwise; I swear I did."

"I believe both of you," I assured them. "And I'm not mad just… I guess I feel a little left out."

They both winced.

I gnawed at my bottom lip. "Can you… can you guys give me some time to digest this? How soon are you leaving, anyway?"

"Three days," they both said.

"… Alright."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"… So now I don't know what to do," I explained to Mommy.

I was curled up at my old home on the couch, just the two of us. She had made us both some hot chocolate and was listening with a growing frown on her face to my dilemma.

She bit her bottom lip, chewing thoughtfully. "Why don't you go on your own journey then?"

"I don't have a sensei," I answered, glancing down.

"You don't need one," Mommy said, almost reluctantly.

I looked back up sharply. "What?"

"My mother… and my grandmother and her mother and..." Mommy began to explain, a little hesitantly, "all were accomplished kunoichi, as you know. They all went out on a journey at five to ten years. They learned the wonders of the world and… you know the story."

I did. They each developed their own unique techniques and successfully teaching them to others, who also successfully mastered them.

"Are you saying… are you saying I can go on my own journey?" I asked in disbelief.

Mommy chewed on her lip again. "The reason I never went was because I had no desire to. And if you did go, you are definitely not going for five years. And I expect monthly—no, weekly—letters to me. Preferably daily, if you can. I also want you to check in on _multiple_ friends of mine. They'll tell me what state you're in, alright? _And _you will _stay in this land._"

My eyes widened with each word. "Really? You'll let me go…?"

"It's tradition," Mommy murmured. "I trust you to keep a sensible head and keep up with your training."

I gaped at her, my heart swelling with excitement and gratitude. "I will. I'll write as often as I can—if not daily, then every other day. I promise."

Mommy gave me a thin smile. "I trust you, sweetheart. And this generation wasn't anywhere near as bad as my mother's generation. We will, of course, have to ask Tsunade-sama's permission, but I don't see why not…"

"Can we ask now?" I asked.

"I don't see why not."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

In exchange for a three-year, paid, training absence, I was to write to the Hokage once a month and my mother once a week. I was to make multiple stops between a certain time period with old friends of my mother's _and_ if I wasn't back in three years, I would be declared a defected shinobi and hunted down. While that was going on, I would also be running errands on behalf of Tsunade—officially I was actually just on a long-term C-Rank mission where I was running as an envoy across the land.

I was also leaving the same day as Naruto and Sasuke, after they left.

But… they wouldn't know that.

Somehow, I doubted they would be quite as accepting as my mother was about my journey; the same went for Kakashi. So it would be hush-hush for now, just like it was hush-hush with Papa and Ino. I planned on leaving a note and fleeing. It seemed like the safest idea.

"So," I said, staring at the two of them. Jiraiya and Kakashi stood a little behind them, both packed and ready to go. "So…"

"We'll miss you," Naruto said, coming forward and hugging me.

I gripped him tightly. "I'll miss you, too."

Sasuke grunted, but shifted a little closer. Naruto and I exchanged a glance before pulling him into the group hug.

"Don't die," I told them both.

"Don't talk to strangers," Sasuke returned.

"Don't get raped," Naruto said.

Sasuke and I stared at him.

Naruto gave us a sheepish smile. "Sorry?"

I chuckled. "Okay… I'll see you all in three years."

"Definitely," Naruto assured me.

"Three years," Sasuke agreed.

"Bye-bye…"

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I shifted the backpack slightly, taking a tentative step outside Konoha. After saying all my goodbyes, I was finally setting off.

I stared at the long road before me and felt a wave of uncertainty come over me.

But it was gone in a flash.

I took another step, surer this time. And another, and another, and another.

I was doing it. I was _really_ doing it.

I was leaving Konoha to train to get stronger. I would complete my Fūinjutsu training, perfect my new jutsu, and find my own sensei.

I was going to do this.

A smile lit up my face.

And for a while, I wouldn't let the past control me.

_(Smile, smile)_

* * *

_I'm not even going to really bother too much with an A/N on this chapter. Yep. That's the end of the epilogue. Now click the pretty 'Next' button to read the Shippuden prologue because I double-updated. You're welcome. _


	23. Arc IX - Returning

Two figures moved at a casual pace down the long dirt road. The smallest of the figures walked with a small skip in her step, while the other figure kept a more relaxed posture. The two were talking, but whatever words they were saying were lost to the wind. The smallest of the figures pulled a dark blue cloak tighter around her as a particularly strong wind blew. Her hood—which she had previously been wearing up—had come down and the opening of her cloak opened up.

Her hair was a pale blonde, curling a bit at the ends, where it fell a little past the top of her shoulders. Her pupil-less blue eyes were lit up with amusement and she smiled adoringly at the figure beside her. She had goggles strapped to the top of her head and wore a white sleeveless vest-shirt along with light blue leggings that ended halfway above her knees, a white skirt covering them. She wore the standard shinobi gloves and shoes and her Konoha _Hitai-ate_ was wrapped around her upper left arm.

She paused in her walking, the second figure pausing as well. Though the wind carried away the majority of the conversation, some words were able to be picked out.

"Sensei?" She asked, tilting her head.

The figure—_Sensei_—paused, turning to face her.

"Un?"

"You have…. leaf… hair…" She motioned towards the figure's rather light-colored hair.

He paused, tilting his head and lifting a black gloved hand, plucking a leaf from his hair and eying it. He laughed quietly.

The figure released his hold on the leaf, using his hand instead to affectionately pat the top of the girl's head. Immediately, her face took on a reddish hue—causing the male to laugh once again—and she looked down at the ground, smiling shyly.

The two conversed again for a brief moment before beginning their trek once again.

It didn't take long before the two found themselves standing at Konohgakure's front gates. Immediately, the Chūnin noticed their presence.

The first one beamed brightly. "Welcome back, Nao-kun and—"

* * *

_**EXTRA SPECIAL SURPRISE FOR ANYONE WHO CAN GUESS NAO'S SENSEI.**_

_**AND BY THE WAY, MY FINAL SELF-INSERT OC STORY IS UP. **Titled Shadowed Sun. Updates for it will be once a week on my Saturdays.  
_

_Had to say that. Seriously, though. Extra special surprise. :) :) :) :) _

_I thought I made it pretty damn obvious. _

**_Answer: _**_Ho-hum. Teachers that don't teach and when you ask them a question, they respond as if you're an idiot (example being my College Chem teacher last year, whenever I asked a question regarding the subject. Although, I wouldn't be asking the question if he just fucking taught us the chapter in the first place. Let's see... friends...? Ah, not having enough friends that share the same interests as me. Work? Depends. Most of the time I don't mind, but it can get annoying when you have nasty costumers. Holidays? Hmm... Having to be nice to that _one _family member that hates my guts. _

**_Question:_**_ If you could have your own personal butler (think like Sebastion from Black Butler, or Alfred from Batman) out of any of the Naruto cast, who would it be?_

_Reviews are ____**love**_!  



	24. Arc IX - Sensei

**Intermission – Omniscient – 1**

It hadn't been even a full day ago that Aō had received the Byakugan. Fresh out of surgery, Aō was accompanied by Mei as the two moved quietly through the quiet streets of Kirigakure.

It had been Zabuza who had set the turn of events. Ever since Zabuza's defection and attempted assassination, the shinobi and kunoichi of Kirigakure had been growing more and more restless. Whispers of their Mizukage being influenced by an outside source had presented the most terrifying thought. And as time passed on, the once quickly dismissed whispers were rapidly becoming considered by _all_ shinobi in Kirigakure.

Mei, the current leader of the resistance, was torn at what to do. On one hand, she adored her village—even if it hadn't been the greatest morality wise—and it had been drilled into her to be unfailingly loyal to their Mizukage. It was true that Yagura—their current Mizukage—wasn't much younger than herself, and that he was brutally efficient in his rule, but still…

The very thought of someone manipulating their Kage was a painful one to hear. No shinobi or kunoichi wanted to find such a fatal flaw in their Kage, and no shinobi or kunoichi wanted to hear how they were being manipulated by an outside force.

It had been a secret, getting Aō to receive the Byakugan. No one else except those closest in the resistance knew about the surgery.

It was all a precaution. A test. Aō would casually glance at Yagura and either confirm or deny the rumors. Either way, a plan would be made. They had to act quickly to ensure Kirigakure did not fall to ruin and the other villages took control.

Mei knocked politely at Yagura's office door.

There was a significant pause before Yagura's voice beckoned for them to enter.

The two entered the office, pausing slightly before kneeling before their Kage.

Yagura's expression did not change, nor did his tone. He was perfectly blank, as he had been ever since he took up the mantle of Mizukage.

"Mizukage-sama," Mei whispered, "we have completed our mission and eagerly await our next one."

"For now, there will be no next one," Yagura said swiftly. "I will call you when I have need of your services again. You are dismissed."

The two waited a moment before straightening up and exiting the room. As the two continued to leave the building, Mei glanced to Aō and winced.

His expression was darkened and twisted with a sort of bitter-sadness. He glanced at her, faltering in his footsteps.

In a pained voice, he said, "The whispers are true."

Mei felt her heart constrict.

. . .

. .

.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"It's good to be back home," I said, smiling brightly at my sensei. He turned to glance at me, smirking in response.

"I suppose you would find that to be true, though we haven't been gone all that long," He said, his tone formal.

"Perhaps," I allowed. "We should probably head to Hokage-sama's office and inform her of our return. Then, if you don't mind, I would like to stop by and see if Nee-chan is home."

He peered at me. "That sounds acceptable. However, afterwards, I would like to continue your training."

Inwardly, I winced. As much as I adored my sensei, he was meticulously brutal. Then again, I wouldn't expect any less from him, as that was how he was raised. What constituted as brutal to myself—and probably my friends and family—was what was expected of him at my age. I think what really hurt the most about training was his openly taunting and snide attitude during it.

"Hai," I muttered dejectedly.

He smirked tauntingly at me.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Ah, you're home," Tsunade said as the two of us stood in her office.

"It's wonderful to be home," I said, smiling warmly at Tsunade.

"Tsunade-hime," my sensei greeted, dipping his head in her direction.

"Yagura-san," Tsunade returned, giving him an amused smile. "How's your…?"

"Still muddled," Yagura admitted, his voice clipped as he showed clear distaste, but he kept his posture and tone completely formal, as always.

Tsunade nodded, frowning thoughtfully. "We'll have to set up another appointment, then."

"Indeed. Nao-chan?"

"Oh!" I squeaked, recalling what my sensei and I had discussed prior to entering Konoha. "Tsunade-sama, I request the right to take the Jōnin test in hopes of advancing to the Jōnin position myself."

"Granted. You can take the test within a week," Tsunade said.

"Acceptable," Yagura murmured. "If that is all, Tsunade-hime, I request permission for dismissal. My student and I require time to train for the upcoming test and she is most anxious to be reunited with her… _family_."

"Granted," Tsunade dismissed. "… Welcome home."

I smiled brightly at her before Yagura grabbed me by the collar of my outfit and proceeded to drag me out the room.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Nee-chan!" I shouted excitedly, rushing towards my sister and hugging her tightly. In many ways, I was more intellectually advanced than my sister, but she would always remain my beloved big sister and I would always adore her as such. Ino squealed and squeezed me tightly, lifting me off the ground and spinning me around in our home.

Papa was watching the scene with an amused expression. When Ino was finished hugging the life out of me, he opened his arms. I gladly entered them, hugging him tightly around the waist. He kissed the top of my head. "Welcome home, Nao-chan."

I only nodded, hugging him more tightly.

Yagura cleared his throat and I pulled back, blushing and smiling sheepishly.

"Hello again, Yagura-san," Papa said, his expression blank and voice clipped.

"Inoichi-san," Yagura returned, "as I have promised, I have returned your youngest daughter in good health."

"It would appear that way," Papa replied, staring evenly at him before glancing down at me and smiling gently. "Will you be staying with us, Nao-chan, or…?"

I glanced over at Yagura, weighing my options. "I think it would be more prudent if I stayed in the Uchiha District, at least for the moment."

Ino glanced between Yagura and myself before she smirked. "Right. Of course."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"The Uchiha District has their own training grounds and I am certain Sasuke-kun wouldn't mind if we used them," I said, walking beside Yagura as the two of us made our way to said district. "Not to mention the district is still relatively empty… but… will you be alright, Yagura-sensei?"

Yagura shot me an annoyed look, snapping, "Are you implying that I'm not mature enough to handle this?"

I pursed my lips. "That's not what I'm implying at all, Sensei, and you know it. If the subject is too sore, then I am certain Papa would make room for us at the clan compound, or Naruto wouldn't mind if we stayed in his apartment if you are really disinclined to stay at the compound."

Yagura sighed, rubbing his temple. "I will be fine, Nao."

"… If you're certain, Yagura-sensei," I said softly, peering up at him from under my bangs.

Yagura pointedly ignored my worried look, choosing instead to quicken the pace.

_Stubborn man,_ I thought fondly

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

.

. .

. . .

**Intermission – Nao – 1**

I hesitated a brief moment before making up my mind and finished releasing the chakra cuffs from the boy's wrists. He was staring up at the sky, his eyes glazed over and he didn't seem to notice me at all. He looked scarcely a few years older than myself, and for one reason or another, I felt my heart quicken when I stared at him.

It was true that he was attractive, incredibly so, but I knew that wasn't why my heart and stomach were fluttering. I _knew_ him. The memories… It was why I had rescued him. I _knew_ him and I feared for his life back there. It was why I had been compelled to—

Tentatively, shyly, I placed my hand on his cheek, tapping lightly. He snapped out of whatever daze he was in, blinking owlishly up at me.

"… Hello," I said softly, my eyes wide with concern as I took in his unreadable expression.

"… Who are you?" he asked, his voice just as soft.

"I'm… You can call me Nao," I supplied. "Are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" He tilted his head as he slowly sat up. His eyes then widened as he took in the massive amounts of bodies surrounding us. "What happened here?"

"You don't… you don't remember?" I asked, feeling confused at that.

"I don't…" He paused, his brow furrowed and his lips turning down. "… I don't… Who am I? Do you… Do you know who I am?"

(Yes.)

"I don't know," I answered hesitantly. "I… I think I know your name…"

He turned to me, looking at me expectantly.

I closed my eyes, screwing up my face in concentration. Vaguely I could make out the shape of a—

"Kame," I said.

"A turtle?" Kame asked, tilting his head again. "I don't know if I like that name."

"I'm sorry," I responded, ducking my head in embarrassment.

"It's alright. You're not the one who named me," Kame assured me. "I just… Well, I don't suppose you know where my home is…?"

I shook my head.

He frowned, looking away. "I see…"

"You can travel with me," I offered shyly.

"Oh? Really? Thank you, that's very kind, Nao-san."

I blushed, looking away and smiling. "It's nice to have company. Come on, my camp isn't too far from here, Kame-san."

"Alright."

* * *

_**TROLOLOLOL.**_

_I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. It had to be done, though. _

_**I bet ya'll are wondering wtf is up with the beginning and the end as well as Yagura. Allow me to explain…**_

_Why and how Yagura came to be accepted into Konohagakure will be told in these little things. At the beginning of the chapter I intend to write an Omniscient POV of an event that occurred over the time-skip. After I finish telling Yagura's tale, I'll move on to elaborating on other AU-effects that have occurred simply due to Nao's presence. At the bottom of every chapter, I will write a portion of Nao's POV during the time-skip, chronologically. _

_Trust me. I actually have legitimate reasons for having Yagura in Konohagakure and I'm not _just _pulling my almighty because-I'm-the-authoress-and-I-want-to. Originally I wanted to have Sasori or Kakuzu as Nao's senseis... I went ahead and came up with multiple reasons and scenarios to how that could logically come about, but I changed my mind last minute._

_IF I DON'T HAVE A DAMN PREVIEW, IT'S CAUSE I HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED THE NEXT CHAPTER. I tried. I did. But sometimes I fail. It happens.  
_

**_So only one of you was able to guess the right person. Phoenixyfriend, congratulations! I'll PM you about your special reward for guessing correctly. :) Thanks again for PMing me your reasons and thoughts on the correct answer. _**

_I also have more fanart! Huzzah! Link on profile or you can check out my (Charredblossom16) favorites or ainoyl's gallery on Deviantart._

**_Answer:_**_ HMMMMM... Sage of Six Paths, maybe? Nah. I'd probably want Naruto. I would choose Itachi, but you know... he's terminally ill and stuff, so I wouldn't be able to have him as my butler for a lifetime... yeah..._

**_Question:_**_ If YOU had to be the butler / maid / servant to any of the Naruto cast, who would you rather be a servant to? And who would you definitely NOT want to be a servant to?_

**_Preview:_**

"That's right," Kakashi said. "What about it?"

"I went on a journey of my own."

They stared at me another moment.

_Reviews are **love**!_

_trololol... _

_You think this is bad? You should see what I did in this week's chapter of Chipped Mask. You're gonna haaaaaaate me. If you read that story, that is._


	25. Arc IX - Saigo-no-Shudan

_**Disclaimer:** The characters of Naruto belong to Kishimoto._

**_Warning:_**_ Uh..._

**_Beta:_**_ Kalafina94_

* * *

**Interlude – Omniscient– 2**

"We cannot allow him as our Kage anymore," a Kiri shinobi declared.

Mei nodded in agreement, staring at the large mass of faces before her. "I know and I understand, but we have to tread carefully. We cannot allow the one who is controlling Yagura to know of our plan. Not to mention eliminating Yagura will be difficult."

"Then what do you propose we do?"

Mei glanced towards Chōjūrō, her gaze uncertain. As always, the young boy gave her a shy and warm smile. She smiled in return immediately, and when she glanced back at the audience, she felt a plan slowly form in her mind. "… Here's what we do..."

Meanwhile in the shadows, two yellow eyes stared unblinkingly at Mei, listening intently.

. . .

. .

.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"_Nao!_" Yagura barked, seething with irritation. "Just what the _hell _do you think you're doing?"

Blearily, I creaked my eyes open, staring at the looming tower of Yagura, my mind muddled from sleep. It took a heartbeat or two before I quickly realized what was going on and what was about to happen. I let out a startled shriek, leaping out of bed and making a mad dash for my clothes.

"I'm sorry!" I cried out, leaping into the closet and grabbing my change of clothes and changing as quickly as I could. "Oh God, I'm so sorry!"

Yagura seethed and in each of his hands, he held a cup of ice water and a cup of boiling water. I knew from experience that had I not woken up and made a quick move, he would have dumped the boiling water on me first, followed by the ice water.

Yagura _hated_ it when someone wasn't punctual. It pissed him off to no end and he wasn't afraid to show it. I knew that from experience as well, any time I was late for a training practice—even by so much as a _minute_—the practice was twice as brutal. At times, he made Gai and Lee's training seem _normal_ and _nice_. When I had finished getting dressed, I stepped out of the closet, bowing lowly and still having a sort of mini-panic attack.

Yagura eyed me another moment before he set the cups down on the nightstand. "I will allow it to slide this once, as I know you were exhausted due to our… _trip_, and that trip was on my behalf. But Nao, if you so much as—"

"I-I know," I said quickly, too relieved I was forgiven. "I'm sorry, Yagura-sensei."

He snorted. "Whatever. Let's go, little _hato_."

At the nickname, I felt a small swell of affection. "Hai, Sensei."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

A pattern had settled in Konoha, one that hadn't meant to be set into place. Once the others had learned of my return in Konoha, they stopped by on occasion, whisking me (and sometimes Yagura, as well) out for a bite to eat or something entertaining to do. During the day, however, Yagura trained me, just as he had for the majority of our journey together. We did not take missions for numerous reasons; the first and most prominent being Yagura, the second being that I was scheduled for a rank test and thus was given leeway, and the third being we were expecting the return of Naruto and Sasuke any moment and I didn't want to be out of the village and risk not seeing them.

After my test—I would receive the results within half a week's time—Yagura and myself headed towards the hospital. It was time for Yagura's appointment and it would be best if I had my bi-annual check-up as well.

The hospital had a sterile smell to it, one that I didn't care too much for. Yagura, as always, kept his face and opinion entirely unreadable and his tone and posture stiff and formal when the nurse directed us.

In the waiting room, we sat quietly side by side until a familiar pinkette entered the rather empty (only Yagura and myself were in it, surprisingly) room. "… Yamanaka-san?"

I stood up, flattening my skirt of wrinkles before I recognized the girl.

"Sakura-san?" I blinked.

The older girl glanced up from her clipboard, her eyes lighting up with recognition. "Nao-chan? Oh, wow. Hello, how have you been?"

Inwardly, I frowned. "… I have been well, and you?"

"Ah, busy," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "I actually managed to pass with my team, but our sensei didn't let us take the Chūnin Exams for another year. Anyway, after I became a Chūnin, my sensei directed me to the medical corps—she thought I would do some good here—and I took a few classes and… _viola_." Sakura gave me a smirk. "I'm actually training under Shizune-sensei."

"Congratulations," I murmured, still feeling unsure of how to respond to the girl.

On one hand, she would forever remain as the girl who broke my sister's heart and idiotically chased after Sasuke. She was an annoyance and pest at best in that hand. On the other hand, I truly hadn't seen the girl in _years_ and who knew how much she may or may not have changed since then. It would be irrational for me to judge her upon more childish days.

"I talked to Ino-chan the other day," Sakura continued, unminding of my neutral face, "and she told me you went on a training trip of sorts and that you just go back. How cool was that? What was it like?"

"Interesting."

"That's good. Oh, well I suppose we should get to your check-up now, yes? I'll be the one administrating it. Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all, Sakura-san."

Sakura smiled brightly at me as Shizune entered the room.

"Kame-san," Shizune said, gesturing towards Yagura. Yagura stood up from his seat.

I frowned slightly, giving him a worried look.

Yagura noticed my look and bristled. He snapped, "Don't give me that look. I can take care of myself quite well, thank you."

I flushed, looking away sheepishly.

Shizune giggled at the exchange. "Don't worry, Nao-chan. I promise to return him in good health."

I only blushed more darkly in response. When those two left, Sakura seemed to be smirking at me.

"What?" I mumbled.

Sakura giggled. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

I frowned in response.

_Lying liar who lies…_

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Weren't they supposed to be here an _hour_ ago?" Yagura growled, his foot tapping impatiently on the dirt floor.

"Kakashi-sensei has a tendency to, um… show up a little _late_," I said slowly, eying at Yagura's growing anger. I had a very nasty feeling that he and Kakashi wouldn't get along well. Not at all. Yagura shot me a baleful look.

"I do hope you have no intentions in following your previous sensei's footsteps in _that_ regard."

"No," I admitted truthfully, making sure not to add _because I know you wouldn't stand it and frankly, your temper is scary enough as it is._

Yagura snorted softly, frowning as he stared at the horizon another moment. Another ten minutes passed by as the two of us continued to stand at the front gates of Konoha.

"I am going to kill them," Yagura said lowly.

"… Please don't."

Before Yagura could respond, both of us quickly noticed dots on the horizon. Yagura muttered darkly, "About damn time…"

As the dots approached, I saw Naruto and Sasuke conversing—mostly Naruto was yelling about something and Sasuke would say something in return, smirking all the while—with Kakashi and Jiraiya in the back, staring at the two Genin with amused expressions.

Naruto was the first to notice me and he gave a shout of joy, cutting off whatever he was saying—yelling—to Sasuke to instead sprint full speed towards me. I frowned, quickly changing my posture and bracing for impact—

Naruto's arms wrapped around me I was thrown up into the air as he twirled me around. "Nao-chan! I missed you. How have you been? Did everything go alright? I'm really sorry we had to leave you in Konoha like that…"

I laughed joyfully as the others finally reached us. Naruto set me on the ground while Sasuke flicked my nose. I crinkled my nose in distaste at the action, scowling at his smug smirk.

"Sorry, if we had known you were waiting for us, we would have hurried," Kakashi apologized to me, affectionately patting the top of my head. I smiled and blushed at the action.

"It's alright," I instantly forgave them. "It's good to see you all home. And ah… I have some news for you."

"Oh," Jiraiya chuckled, realization dawning on his face. "That's right. I never told you guys."

"Told us what?" Naruto asked curiously.

Jiraiya only snickered in response. "I had to come back to Konoha to, uh… check some things and confirm a few other things. Damn, I wish I had a camera for your responses."

"Why would you want a camera…? What's going on?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

I cleared my throat, drawing attention to myself. "Well, as the two of you are no doubt aware… you two went on a two-year training trip. Not only to help focus solely on your training, but so that way, the Akatsuki and Orochimaru couldn't keep a pinpoint on your location."

"That's right," Kakashi said. "What about it?"

"I went on a journey of my own."

They stared at me another moment.

"What?" Naruto repeated. "… With who?"

"Originally by myself."

"_What?_" Kakashi repeated, his eye narrowing.

"Please tell me you're joking," Naruto pleaded, staring at me with a worried expression.

"No and I'm fine," I dismissed his worry. "I wasn't allowed to leave the Fire Country and I had to visit multiple stops along the way. I barely went a week without running into another Konoha shinobi or close ally and friend of Konoha or family member. I was perfectly safe, I could take care of myself, and there was no need for concern."

"How in the hell did Inoichi agree to that?" Kakashi asked incredulously.

"He didn't really get a chance to," I answered.

"Wait, you said _originally_," Sasuke said slowly—and Jiraiya snickered once he realized where this conversation was going. "Who traveled with you?"

Yagura cleared his throat.

I turned towards him, smiling nervously at Naruto's, Sasuke's and Kakashi's darkening expressions. "E-Everyone… this is my sensei, Yagura-sama, previously the Mizukage of Kirigakure."

"The same Kage that ordered Zabuza to slaughter his fellow classmates before he was even ten?" Kakashi inquired, his eye narrowed dangerously and his posture stiffening.

"The same Kage that renewed Kirigakure's nickname _Village Hidden in the Bloody Mist_?" Sasuke's own eyes narrowed into slits.

"And the same Kage who was given the title _Red Torrent_?" Naruto took a step forward.

Yagura blinked, his expression showing that of boredom. "… And?"

"Don't bait them," I sighed tiredly. He shot me a nasty look in return.

"Explain to me why he was allowed to travel with you," Kakashi ordered.

"Isn't he like… 30?"

"I'm twenty-two," Yagura snapped.

"You look _twelve_," Naruto jeered.

"Aren't you supposed to be _dead_?" Sasuke asked.

"Yes, I am supposed to be dead," Yagura told him. "My reasons for traveling with Nao remain S-Rank classified information, and my existence remains S-Ranked classified information, as well. I normally wear a mask, but Nao insisted on informing you… _boys_… of the truth. My alias in Konoha is Zonbi Kame."

Naruto snickered at that while Sasuke and Kakashi stared blankly at him. Jiraiya flat out laughed.

"Z-Zombie turtle?" Naruto snickered. "R-Really? Who came up with that?"

With great pains, Yagura muttered, "… Anko-san."

This time Kakashi chuckled while Naruto joined Jiraiya in the laughter. Sasuke sighed, peering at Yagura. "… How long were you traveling with her?"

"We met a month into my journey and I left a day after you," I supplied.

"… And your relationship?"

"I'm not a fucking pedophile," Yagura snapped.

"Are you saying she's not cute enough?" Naruto demanded.

"What?!"

"My sister is cute enough to attract thousands of pedophiles," Naruto declared, bringing me in close to him. "Are you saying she _isn't_?"

Yagura flushed. "She's attractive in her own right—"

"So you admit it," Sasuke interrupted smoothly. "You make me sick. Go fantasize about someone else's little sister."

"Guys!" I squeaked, mortified.

Yagura glowered darkly, reaching for his staff, my eyes widened as I realized what was about to happen. I pushed away from Naruto, quickly spreading out my hands and placing one on Yagura's chest and one on Naruto's. "Guys! Stop. _Please_."

"... Fine," Naruto muttered.

Sasuke shrugged.

Kakashi continued to eye Yagura. "… I'll be watching you, _Zonbi_-san."

Yagura sneered. "As if I'm scared of a petty Jōnin."

"Don't bait them," I pleaded. "Please? Can't we all just get along…?"

Yagura snorted, his face blanking off as his tone returned to something more formal. "But of course. Now then, I suppose it would be in our best interest to escort you to Tsunade-hime's office. I'm sure she is anxious to see you all again."

"Right," Jiraiya chuckled.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I watched as Naruto and Sasuke tag-teamed to take down Kakashi. Yagura sat beside me, our backs pressed against the tree while I fiddled with my goggles. The strap had come undone somehow and I was having trouble reattaching it. Yagura eyed the fight with a calculated gleam in his eyes.

"What do you think?" Tsunade asked, her voice a low murmur.

"They're definitely skilled," Yagura allowed, his voice monotone. "However, they're both rather aggressive, aren't they? The blond one, while he does pause every now and then, he mostly just charges in. Even the other one is aggressive in his own right. While he seems to think out his actions more clearly, he's not even considering a defensive position, focusing solely on offense."

"If you think they're bad now, you should have seen them before we trained them," Jiraiya laughed.

"Yes, well," Yagura said dubiously, "it's still something that will have to be corrected in the future."

"Perhaps," Tsunade mused. "But I'm still impressed."

"I'm sure you are."

Tsunade didn't bother reacting to his comment.

"Nao-chan," Yagura said pleasantly, his tone brightening. I glanced up from my work, tilting my head curiously. "I swear if I ever catch you acting like these two idiots in battle, _I will beat sense into you_."

I gulped. "H-H-Hai, Sensei."

Yagura smiled at me, laughing in amusement at my reaction. He noticed my goggles and deftly removed them from my hands, effortlessly reattaching the strap back to them. I smiled easily as he returned them. "Thank you, Sensei."

Yagura gave a hum in reply, turning back to continue watching the fight.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"I've seen enough," Tsunade called out. Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi froze in their fight before they all flickered to stand before Tsunade. She stared at them another moment before motioning over towards Yagura and myself. Yagura stood up with ease before offering his hand to me. Taking my hand, he pulled me up alongside him and the two of us walked to stand before Tsunade.

"Hamon Yagura, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto and Yamanka Nao, from this day forward, you five will make up the specialized team by the name of Saigo-no-Shudan, or SS for short."

I blinked in surprise at that, and I could feel Sasuke and Naruto's confusion as well. _Team Last Resort? What does that mean?_ Kakashi eyed Tsunade for a moment.

"Wasn't the SS a disbanded ANBU corps?" Sasuke inquired.

"In a way, yes. The ANBU Division SS was used as the village's last defense; however, that was before we really had a solid defense and as such, we felt ready to dissolve the Division," Tsunade said, her voice clipped. "There will be more members added to the team, but for the moment, you five will consist of it. The threat of the Akatsuki has grown significantly over the last couple of years."

Tsunade's eyes rested on Yagura. "New developments and information has been brought into light and as such, I and the Clan Heads felt the need to design a team especially suited for the Akatsuki and their members. If you accept yourself into this team, you will fall under my orders, and my orders alone. You will abide by the previous ANBU Division SS rules with a few exceptions, and all of you will be forced to take the fast-progression ranking test."

"The fast… what?" Naruto echoed.

"The fast-progression ranking test," Kakashi repeated. "Normally used in time of war when prodigies and well-deserving shinobi deserve to advance a rank, but cannot take the Chūnin Exams due to the war, or something else of the like. I took the test myself and that's how I received my early promotion. However, on the next possible Chūnin Exam, I was forced to take the Exam in order to see if I kept my rank."

"So we'll be Chūnin?" Sasuke inquired.

"Or Jōnin. Whichever rank best suits you," Tsunade said shortly.

"What are the rules that we must abide to?" I asked hesitantly.

"Rule one; you fall under my rule only. The council has no right to influence you whatsoever and you are not allowed to be influenced by them whatsoever. Rule two; any classified information leaked outside of the team will be dealt with as treason of the highest order and the traitor will be executed. Rule three; you will protect Konoha no matter the cost. Choosing not to will be dealt with as treason of the highest order."

Kakashi nodded his head slowly. "Not the real ANBU rules, then?"

"No," Tsunade said. "Not everyone is ready for that kind of commitment to Konoha."

"So what do we do now?" Naruto asked hesitantly. "Do we… Aw, can we get our own ANBU gear or something? Aw, come on, please?"

Tsunade frowned, looking hesitant. "… If you want to design your own uniform, you can submit it to me for reviewing and I will _think_ on it."

"Ino," I said immediately.

"She better make it look kick-ass," Naruto said sternly.

"She will," I assured them. "… I kind of want a cool uniform, too…"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, while Naruto nodded empathetically.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"So you want me to design… a completely bad-assery uniform for a special Division you guys are in?" Ino inquired, peering at me and Naruto. Naruto nodded his head and beamed while Sasuke cursed from behind.

Sasuke actually accepted Shikamaru's shoji challenge.

He was seriously regretting that decision.

"Can you do it?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"Of course I can," Ino sniffed. "Don't underestimate me. Just… damn, I'm jealous. I want to be part of this team, too…"

"You'd have to get Chō and Shika to agree with you," I said. "There's no way Tsunade-sama will be willing to break up the trio."

"… Damn, that's going to be hard. I'll do it, though. Somehow. Just you watch."

"I'm sure you will," I said, smiling brightly at her. "And I'll be waiting for you."

Ino smiled adoringly at me, reaching over and pulling me into a hug. I giggled, hugging her back just as tightly. "I love you, Imouto."

"Love you, too, Nee-chan."

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

.

. .

. . .

**Interlude – Nao – 2**

It had been two days since Kame began traveling with me. He still hadn't regained his memory and at times, he seemed dazed and confused. In a lot of ways, he reminded me of how Sasuke was in his catatonic days back after the massacre. It was worrying and rather depressing seeing the boy act as such. He really couldn't have been that much older than myself and it pained me to see someone so young already have something so traumatic happen to them that it left them in an amnesiac state.

Night had fallen and I had set up camp. Kame was using my spare sleeping bag and set of clothes until we could reach another village and purchase his own clothing and such. We hadn't bothered setting up a watch, as I had set up an alerting seal around us. A bonus, I suppose, to being forced to learn fūinjutsu.

The moon was high above the sky when I was awakened by a startled shout. My eyes flew open and I shot upright, staring around the camp with sharp eyes.

When nothing seemed dangerous, and no one seemed to be in danger, I frowned. It was then that I heard another whimper.

Turning my head, I noticed that it was _Kame_ who had given the shout. He was half sprawled out of the sleeping bag, sweating heavily as his face was screwed up in pain. My eyes flew open and I lurched out of my bag, quickly hurrying over to him.

Just before I was about to shake him awake, I paused, remembering what my sister and mother had done for me when _I_ had a nightmare.

Instead of waking him up immediately, I slowly roused him awake by gently petting his hair and whispering softly in his ear. His thrashing slowly died down as he gradually returned to the waking world. When his eyes opened up blearily, there was raw terror in them.

"… A-Are you okay?" I asked hesitantly, still petting his hair.

"Eyes," Kame whispered hoarsely. "Red eyes… everywhere. I can't… I can't ever _move_. I can't ever _speak_. I'm… I'm trapped. Why? Why was I trapped? I don't… Why would he…?"

He faltered, his eyes screwing closed and he gave a great shudder.

"… Go back to sleep, Kame-kun," I whispered. "I promise to keep away the eyes."

His eyes snapped open and he looked at me, madness and hysteria creeping into his gaze. "Swear?"

"I swear," I swore.

He swallowed roughly, nodding to himself. "O-Okay. I will… Yeah… Thank you… Nao-chan…"

I smiled shyly as he closed his eyes. It wasn't long before he drifted back into sleep.

But I didn't leave his side for a long while.

After all, I did swear to keep the bad dreams away.

* * *

_La-di-da. The Gaara arc is next chapter._

**_Answer:_**_ Jiraiya and or Naruto. Jiraiya because I know he's honorable enough to not force anything (come on, can any of you see him doing that sort of thing), he's funny and he's an overall awesome guy. I think it'd be entertaining. Naruto because... I don't know. Just because. I would NOT want to be the maid / servant of anyone form the Akatsuki (except maybe Tobi and Madara, but that's mostly because of the whole obligation of being their fan girl) and the whole Orochimaru / Kabuto / Sound Four family. No one for Otogakure. Just. No._

**_Question:_**_ Favorite summoned animal?_

**_Preview:_**

His entire back side was was nearly burnt beyond help, flesh and seared cloth clung to him and the smell of burnt flesh rose all around me.

_Reviews are **love**!_


	26. Arc X - Partners

_**Disclaimer:** I have a hat. And a laptop. And a cat. But I don't have Naruto._

**_Warning:_**_ Fighting scene._

**_Beta:_**_ Kalafina94_

* * *

**Interlude – Omniscient – 3**

"… I see," Tobi whispered quietly. "How interesting. I suppose it was only a matter of time before they discovered the truth. In all honesty, I'm a bit surprised it had taken them so long, but… no matter… I have no use for controlling Yagura anymore. I suppose… Yes, I do believe it's time to cut my ties loose."

Tobi paced back and forth, his tone a gentle musing. "I will need to make sure he remembers nothing of his time under the genjutsu, simple enough. But I must also ensure his death… After all, if he's dead, then collecting the Sanbi will be that much easier. But I suppose it doesn't really matter in the long run… No matter, no matter… I shall… yes, yes, that will do. That will do just fine. When they begin their trap, I shall release my entire hold of the genjutsu, and with it, I shall lock away his memories… He will be disoriented and will surely fall easily to their trap. Yes… Yes, that will do just nicely."

"Whatever you say, Tobi," Zetsu said, his yellow eyes staring at Tobi unblinkingly.

. . .

. .

.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

I poured another cup of hot tea for myself and Yagura. The two of us were seated along the porch of the Uchiha main house. Sasuke and Naruto were in the middle of yet another sparring match and Kakashi was off somewhere… more than likely standing in front of the stone again. After pouring the tea, I set it down and sat down across from Yagura, taking a small riceball and biting into it.

"Are they always so…?" Yagura seemed to struggle for the right word.

"Yes," I answered immediately. "They are rather reckless and undisciplined when it comes to each other. They adore fighting each other, though I don't think I'll ever understand why."

Yagura contemplated a moment before he replied, "In a way, I can understand the appeal of fighting, but even I wouldn't want to fight as constantly as those two."

I nodded in acceptance of this, mulling over my next choice of words. "What do you suppose our first mission will be like?"

"More than likely we won't be called for anything until the Akatsuki make their move," Yagura said blandly.

"I suppose so," I allowed, "but none of us have all really worked together. Well, I mean, you haven't worked together with the others before and they haven't worked with you. Shouldn't there be… I don't know… more basic missions to give us an opportunity to grow in teamwork?"

"She mentioned that there would be more members," Yagura pointed out. "Perhaps they don't want us to set ourselves in a specific team dynamic until the full team is assembled."

"That's possible," I agreed, "but it's a little insulting that she doesn't think we're flexible enough to adjust our teamwork to allow another person in."

"Or perhaps she's complimenting us by not giving us extra missions to practice our teamwork because she believes we can handle it just fine," Yagura mused.

"Perhaps."

Just as the words left my mouth, there was a cry of a hawk that circled around and above us. We all paused in what we were doing.

"Looks like we're being summoned," Yagura commented.

I stood up.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Gaara's been what?" Naruto burst out, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Shit! We have to go help him! Now!"

"That's why I called you here," Tsunade said severely, her face grave. "Due to certain circumstances, Konoha has been blessed to have been provided the opportunity to garner knowledge concerning the Akatsuki, knowledge that hasn't been able to be ascertained by the rest of the villages. Because Sunagakure knows this, they have specially requested us, and more importantly specially requested you."

"Us?" Sasuke echoed, his eyes narrowing in disbelief. "What do you… the team… what exactly is our purpose?"

Tsunade gave Sasuke an appraising look, while Naruto shifted on his feet. I could still feel the vibrating anger that seemed to roll off of him. I had the strongest urge to place a comforting hand on him at the moment, but this was a formal debriefing and such actions would have been frowned upon in protocol.

"I made this team because each of you are specially suited to take on the Akatsuki, either from first hand-experience, the desire to target a specific member, pre-possessed knowledge, or because the Akatsuki will most certainly be targeting you. That is the purpose of this team, and that is exactly why I will be sending you five to Sunagakure, along with one of my apprentices. Your orders are this: you are to protect my apprentice, you are to rescue the Kazekage at all costs, and you are to eliminate or, preferably, apprehend any if not all Akatsuki targets. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," we chorused, while Yagura gave a small nod.

"My apprentice will remain in Sunagakure to tend to the wounded, and the rest of you will move out immediately."

"Yes, ma'am," we chorused again.

"Each of you grab a briefing on your way out. Dismissed," Tsunade said.

We left.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

It took exactly five minutes for all of us to be packed and ready to go at the front gate of Konohagakure. No words were exchanged, as we each filed into the correct formations. The apprentice Tsunade had chosen was surprisingly Haruno Sakura. As the orders were written on the briefing, each of us paired up with one another.

I was partnered with Yagura, simply because I was the only one who had enough experience with him that we could work well enough together. Kakashi was paired with Sakura because he had enough experience in the field that he knew how to adjust himself to better match Sakura's own style, and he had the most experience (aside from Yagura) in body-guard type situations. Sasuke and Naruto were partnered together, not only because they were simply all that's left, but because they worked best together, as proven many times before.

Each partnership had to be prepared to work on their own, separate from the whole group; the plan was for each pairing to be able to hold their own against a single member of the Akatsuki at a time—as it was known that the Akatsuki always traveled in pairs—with the last pairing hanging back in the shadows, stepping in only when absolutely necessary.

From the information we had ascertained—information I was privy to, seeing how the main source felt necessary to inform me, as well… not to mention I was there in the beginning—gave us the knowledge that the two Akatsuki members pursuing the Kazekage were more than likely Deidara and Sasori.

Kakashi and Sakura were instructed to head directly to Sunagakure to assist them in whatever way possible before Kakashi would leave Sakura behind and move to support us. Sasuke and Naruto were to track down one of the Akatsuki members, Sasori, while Yagura and myself were to track down Deidara. Due to Sasuke's apprenticeship to Kakashi, he had a fair knowledge of tracking—he was by no means a specialist, but he could track well enough—and Yagura has had his own tracking training from his time in the Kiri-ANBU. For the most part, the four of us would be traveling together, with Yagura and Sasuke in the lead with the sole purpose of tracking down Gaara and our chosen Akatsuki members.

This would save us time, as we would be bypassing Sunagakure entirely.

However, it would be a hard journey. There would be no time for proper rest and it would test our endurance and stamina, especially considering we would more than likely be the fight of our lives once we reached the end.

No words were spoken or exchanged when Sakura arrived—her face set in a somber expression—and the silence continued as we took our leave of Konohagakure.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

After the split off with Kakashi and Sakura, the four of us continued at a fast and hard pace. For a long while, no one bothered speaking.

"What do you think Obaa-chan meant by ascertaining information?" Naruto finally asked in the silence. I glanced over at him, finding his normally bright cerulean blue eyes taking on a reddish tint to them. My eyes drifted over to Yagura's small form. He wore his standard uniform—long, black shinobi pants, a standard black, shinobi, long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves expanded a bit at the end. His gloves, which only covered his fingers and half of his palms, were a pale, darkish-green, and he had the same colored cloth wrapped around the lower-half of his face and neck like a scarf. He had his black hood up, and wore a completely blank, white mask.

"You and Sasuke-chan were placed in intensive training, were you not?" Yagura drawled.

Sasuke gave Yagura a narrowed-eyed glare, showing just how much he disliked Yagura's honorific. I felt a tired sigh build up inside of me, but I didn't not release it. I knew how Yagura only used the honorific to a.) get a rise out of them b.) to (rather childishly) assert his authority c.) take a better measurement of Sasuke—testing his temperament and seeing what made him tick.

I knew he would be doing damn near anything to drive Naruto and Sasuke (and Kakashi) to the edge, just to get a good feel of their character. Ever since… well, ever since the incident that drove him to us in the first place… he'd become more paranoid. He couldn't—or rather, he wouldn't just take my word for them point-blank. He needed to grasp their characters for himself.

It was the same as it was in the beginning, with Papa, Ino, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Anko, Ibiki… well. It was the same with everyone Yagura knew that knew he was Yagura.

He once pissed Tsunade off enough that she threw a punch at him. He dodged it with ease, of course, but it was the thought that mattered the most to him.

"That's right," Naruto replied, apparently not noticing the honorific.

"The two of you, three including Kakashi, were essentially plucked out of the real world to focus on your training—no distractions, right? You must remember that time where you had to travel with Sasuke-chan and Kakashi-san because Jiraiya was called back to Konoha, right?"

Naruto's eyes widened. "You mean… he was called back because of the information?"

"It's related, at the very least."

Naruto fell silent again.

Sasuke glanced over at Yagura, his expression carefully neutral. "You seem to know a lot about the situation."

Yagura tilted his head. "I suppose you could say that I have a… unique perspective on it."

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked.

"Not now, Sasuke-kun," I said softly. "You don't trust Yagura-sensei, and Yagura-sensei doesn't trust you yet. Before you know—before either of you know—the truth of the situation at hand, you need to trust him. You wouldn't want Yagura-sensei to know about your past, would you?"

Sasuke stared at me for a long while, his face thoughtful. "… I understand. I don't care too much for it, but I can acknowledge the reasons."

"Thank you," I said, relief clear in my voice. I may have only procrastinated the inevitable story, but from the pleased sidelong glance Yagura gave me, I felt like I made the right choice.

"I take it the two of you have reviewed your knowledge on Sasori?" Yagura asked, changing the subject."

"Poison-user, puppeteer, nuke-nin from Sunagakure, S-Ranked, prefers long distance attacks, has made some attempt at immortality and is considered successful in the sense that he doesn't age (explanation unknown), tactical…" Sasuke listed off.

"His poisons will have little effect on me, or at least in the long-run," Naruto grunted. "I'm immune to all common poisons, my metabolism and insane immune system from my chakra makes it hard to poison me. Not impossible, 'course, but just hard."

"Don't assume he'll be using regular poisons," Yagura said sharply.

"Wasn't gonna, was just sayin'," Naruto snapped, irritation flowing off of him.

I kicked hard off of one branch, leaping above Naruto and flipping in the process. My hand, palm flat, touched the top of his head in both a warning, and soothing gesture. I landed beside him on the next branch, and Naruto shot me a mix look—one that conveyed annoyance and affection.

"And you two?" Sasuke returned.

"Deidara," I answered shortly, "is a long-ranged nuke-nin from Iwagakure, specializing in explosives using clay of sorts. He has limited amount of clay, and the majority of the clay can be assumed to have been used up in his fight with Gaara. Reports from Sunagakure also claim he'll be missing an arm."

"Which will limit the number of his jutsus significantly," Yagura said.

I kicked off hard from the tree branch, starting to feel the distinct burn in my upper thighs. Tree-jumping was an exercise in and of itself, honestly. It didn't help that I didn't have a developed body, and that I was starting to enter that stage where everything just got wonky.

"We have a while longer before we reach them," Yagura said, "but we're starting to reach in their designated range. Everyone, suppress your chakra, now."

It took a handful of seconds, but I was able to condense and hide my chakra. Naruto had to hold up his hands to form the Crane seal for several minutes before he was able to suppress his massive reserves. Yagura and Sasuke finished before me.

From what the information gathered claimed, the Akatsuki member, Zetsu, had a distinct range point he would keep around the extraction point. Anything that held human-level and above chakra, he would be able to sense and he would then investigate. For the most part, he would randomly move about, as well, having no set pattern. In order to take the upper-hand on them, not only did we need to suppress our chakra to below-human level, but we had to have a helluva lot of luck, pardon my language.

Knowing that silence was key, once again, we lapsed into it.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

The four of us landed before a large stone, eyeing the tag planted on it.

"Gaara should be behind that rock," Yagura said quietly. "Everyone, take a moment. If you need a soldier pill, use it now… that seal… we don't have enough people to safely break it from the outside. However, once we get in, we can destroy it with ease there."

I wasted no time in popping in a pill, swallowing it roughly. Sasuke debated a moment, before doing the same. Naruto didn't bother, and I didn't expect him or Yagura to. Already, I could feel the dull aching in my legs subside and my chakra stores replenish at a faster rate. Yagura stared at me for a minute before tilting his head.

I nodded my head in return, pulling my goggles over my eyes. "Ready."

"Very well. Naruto-chan, Sasuke-chan, this will be your first time traveling with Nao-chan, yes?" Yagura asked, a mocking edge in his voice.

"Don't be stupid—"

"What do you mean? You know we were on the same Genin team," Sasuke cut in.

"Sasuke-kun," I said softly, "do you remember the second part of our first Chuunin Exams together? Just when Orochimaru was about to give you the Mark…?"

"You… you were far away," Sasuke said quietly, frowning. "... You said a while ago that you would develop a second ability, right?"

I nodded. "... Yagura-sensei found out a way to cultivate it and bring it out so I could use it. It's… it's a sort of teleportation ability."

"That's amazing, Nao-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, beaming at me.

My eyes trailed downcast. "... Not… not really."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Just… you'll see. For one thing… for one thing stay close to me. Don't let me out of your sight. I won't be able to see, hear, or feel you, and you won't be able to hear or feel me, or see anyone else. You'll only see me and I'll seem far away to you. Just stay focused on me and don't stop moving. Under no circumstances are you to stop. And keep moving with me. Don't stray from the path, okay?"

At my harsh tone, both boys exchanged glances.

"We understand," Sasuke said carefully, "anything else?"

"Time is different in there than it is out here. Only a second will pass out here, and it may seem like hours in there," I whispered, recalling my own experience with the Void. "Are you ready?"

"We are," Naruto said.

I closed my eyes, focusing on the soft beat of my heart. A moment passed before I could feel the familiar cold twirl inside the pit of my stomach. It grew and grew, wrapping me in its coldness until I let out a small breath. When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in my usual plane.

Blackness stretched around me, suffocating, harsh, cruel, lonely.

I could hear the sound of the ocean.

I swallowed roughly, feeling the normal emotions of panic starting to set in. I hated this place. I hated this technique. It drained me, both emotionally and physically to enter the world, because the blackness—the darkness—and the sounds I heard, all of it was base off of my fears.

This world was my fears.

No one else had my ability before in my family. Everything I learned about it was either through damn good guess-work or trial-and-error. This ability was a projection of my fear on that day, on that horror and panic and absolute break-down. Chakra, that unbalanced and raw substance, could do anything it set its mind to. The only limits were the user's imagination, essentially. It was how I could turn lightning into something cold that froze things, it was how the bijuu even existed, how the Rinnegan was formed.

When that moment occurred, I was frantic, begging for something to happen. My sheer will and drive, coupled with my given insanity at that moment, stretched and—there really was no other way to put this—broke my chakra. It did what I wanted it to do, it did what I needed it to do, but it didn't do it in a normal way, in a safe or even good way. It derived from my feelings of fear, panic and pain, and because of that, it itself embodied that.

It was my own personal hell, if you will.

Today it was the standard blackness with the sound of the oceans—as it was most days. Sometimes… sometimes, though, I'll get really unlucky and I'll be walking through a field of corpses, with someone familiar crying a distance from me, unable to change or help them.

The only good things that came from the technique was the teleportation, and the fact that no one, save myself, saw and heard anything. To them, it would be a never ending blackness, with me walking ahead of them at a steady pace. They would, however, feel my fear. They would sense my panic and my pain, but it wasn't anything… it wasn't anything horrible.

As I exited the end of the portal, I did not pay special attention to the others exiting behind me. I knew they would have paler faces than usual, and they would be looking at me with expressions that I just didn't want to deal with right then and there. Instead, I chose to take in the scene before me.

I could see quite clearly that Gaara, a floating unconscious body with red wisps of chakra pouring out of his eyes, mouth, and nose, his soft, low groans just barely reaching my ears. There seemed to be this large statue, although in the darkness, I could only vaguely make out the shape of the upper half of a sort of humanoid figure. Its hands were held up in the air, fingers stretched above and on the tip of each little finger was a figure. The figures were distorted, almost like a sort of genjutsu-projection. Each one was familiar to me, a sort of nagging sense. Two of the figures, however, were solid.

Sasori and Deidara.

My fingers twitched and through my periphreal vision, I saw Sasuke place a warning hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"Nao, on the count of three, destroy the ceiling. Naruto, in the same instant, you go for Gaara. Sasuke and I will cover you. One… Two… Three!"

I lurched up into the air, my right hand glowed a dull white and a low hum entered the clearing, immediately alerting the Akatsuki to our presence. I could hear a shout of surprise from several of them, but I paid them little heed. I threw my Tōketsu-Raiton Senbon, a variation of my signature jutsu, Tōketsu-Raiton. It took the better part of a year after I left on my journey to finally complete the jutsu, and since then under Yagura's guidance, I had been refining and creating variations of it. I had my standard katana form, whip form, projectile form (senbon and kunai), and the latest one—time effect. The best way to describe it would have to be a bomb. It was Yagura's idea, after seeing my jutsu blow up in my face once. He wondered if I could control it enough to blow it up at will, whenever I desired.

That had been a very painful variation to recreate, not only because I kept blowing it up too soon (and more often than not, was caught in the explosion), but because every time I had messed up, Yagura whacked me with his staff, citing that pain was the best way to make sure I remembered something.

Brutal. Painful.

But efficient.

The senbon, white and bright, flew towards the ceiling of the cave—lighting the entire way—before digging into the rock. I drew my hand—it was still glowing white, signalling the connection—and formed the Yin sign. The senbon glowed even brighter, bright enough that my eyes instinctively watered before the humming intensified and everything was erupted in a bright light. I heard the rocks freeze quickly, the crackling sound it emitted before they shattered.

Light poured into the cave, shining down on the scene below. I saw that Naruto was holding Gaara in his arms and that he had leapt backwards towards me. Yagura and Sasuke both fell back to stand before Naruto and Gaara, positioning themselves between us and the Akatsuki.

"Get rid of them."

My eyes flickered to the voice, a crackling sound layering it.

And suddenly the strange projections were gone, leaving behind the only real Akatsuki members.

"Well, well, well, what a hassle, un," the taller one of the two drawled, straightening up. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to quietly give the jinchuuriki back?"

"Like hell we will!" Naruto snarled.

Yagura flickered towards Naruto. Naruto gave Yagura a vaguely irritated look before handing Gaara over to him. Yagura and I exchanged glances before the two of us leapt out of the cave, leaving Naruto and Sasuke behind.

From the information, we knew that out of the two of them, Deidara was the most mobile and thus the most likely to follow. Sasori, while agile in battle, wasn't the pursuing type, as it didn't fit his profile, nor his abilities.

Sure enough, not long after we began our run into the forest, did I notice a strange bird flying after us.

"Oi! You cowards, why don't you come back here and fight me, un?"

Neither of us responded to his taunting, choosing instead to travel a bit farther.

_Wait until he starts dropping bombs on us—let him waste what little clay he has left._

Yagura's words echoed in my mind just as my spine tingled a cold sensation. Immediately, I leapt up and to the right, watching with wide eyes as the spot where I had once been in exploded in a burning glory. I flipped backwards, feeling that same sixth sense inside of me and I kicked off the nearest tree branch. The force of the explosion behind me rocketed me forward and I had to somersault, rolling with the extra force to avoid losing control of my movement and direction. My feet landed on another tree.

Yagura landed beside me, shifting Gaara over his shoulder. "... We won't be able to hide under the tree cover for long. How much longer do you think it will take before Kakashi arrives?"

I did a quick calculation in my head, making the assumption that Kakashi's speed hadn't changed too much in the last couple years. "... If everything went according to plan, he should be here within minutes, give or take a few."

"I see," Yagura said.

Kakashi is one of the fastest people I know when he's not weighed down by others, and Sunagakure isn't too far from me. The only person I know who's faster than him is Gai… he's not at the age where he'll start declining in speed; if anything he's gotten faster.

"Then all we can do is continue to dodge and hope your previous sensei lives up to his name," Yagura said, before he kicked off from the branch.

I followed behind him.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

* * *

"Yo."

"Excellent timing," Yagura said, landing on the very same tree branch Kakashi stood on and handing him Gaara's unconscious body. Kakashi shifted him over his arms, glancing over to me.

"I take it you two can handle yourselves here?" Kakashi asked, his tone light.

"Of course," Yagura dismissed. "Now get moving. Nao, it's time we put an end to this idiot."

"Yes, sir," I said, and the two of us leapt out of the cover of trees and up into the air. Meanwhile, I knew Kakashi would begin the rest of the journey back to Sunagakure, where Sakura would be waiting for him.

Yagura's hands flew into the Dragon, then Tiger signs before he bellowed, "Suiton: Shishu Gorugon!"

Water blew out of his mouth at a torrent speed, multiplying and growing until as far as I could see. It looked like a monstrous wave one would see when a giant explosion landed upon a lake. We both landed on top of the waters, and Deidara circled above us.

"Oi, where'd the jinchuuriki go, un?"

"Come and find out, woman," Yagura taunted.

Deidara's eyes bulged and his face took on a flushed complexion. "You're going to regret saying that, un!"

"I doubt that," Yagura muttered, his hands clasping together and I ran towards him. My right foot connected into his hands and I kicked off just as he pushed me up into the air, launching me towards Deidara. Deidara maneuvered his bird out my path, smirking as I flew past him. I twisted around, my left hand glowing white, and my Tōketsu-Raiton Muchi (whip) jerked out, wrapping around the bird's tail, and with a hard pull, the tail (having been automatically frozen upon contact with my jutsu) shattered and I was launched forward, back behind Deidara.

Deidara whirled around at the sound, but with the loss of the tail, the bird lost some aerodynamics and it couldn't simply blow it off. I dove towards him, somersaulting to put my feet first before I kicked the pyromaniac right off his bird, hurtling him towards the water. Having used him as my kick-off, I flew backwards into the water, throwing my arms up in my face and curling up, anticipating the explosion.

Sure enough, the bird exploded, and I wasn't out of its safe range quite. The fire licked at my arms and I had to bite down on my lip to keep from crying out at the burns.

I was hurtled into the cold water, the water feeling somewhat soothing for my burns. I opened my eyes, thankful again for the goggles that I wore over them, righting myself and beginning to swim to the surface. When I broke through, I pulled myself on top of the water.

Yagura was standing a little ways from me, twirling his staff around with practice ease. Deidara was glowering furiously at him, breathing heavily.

We knew he was nearly out, if not entirely out, of his clay.

"If you surrender now, we won't kill you," Yagura said, his voice velvety soft.

Deidara sneered. "Yeah, right, un."

"Aren't you even a little curious to how well coordinated we were? How Zetsu never saw us coming, and how we had so neatly and easily split you and your partner up—knowing that you two were put together in the first place because the combination of the two of you was deadly?" Yagura inquired, tilting his head.

It was a standard tactic, sow in seeds of doubt when working against an organization; that way, even if the enemy escaped, the seeds would grow and grow under suspicion and doubt, severing connections they may have had.

Deidara's brow furrowed. "... And what? You're just going to tell me, un?"

"If you surrender," Yagura promised. "You are of no use to us dead."

Deidara snorted. "And after I'm done being of use?"

Yagura shrugged, uncaring. "Either you surrender now and we can make it nice and painless. Or you fight and we either kill you in the most painful way I know how, or we drag you back to Konoha, where you will be tortured and then killed for your information."

"And what if… I just… blow us all up, un?" Deidara asked, a grin lighting up on his as he started to tug his Akatsuki cloak off.

Yagura flickered over to me, where I kneeled on top of the water. He rested a hand on my shoulder. "You'll just end up blowing yourself up, I assure you."

Deidara laughed, a glint in his eyes. "I'd like to test that statement, un!"

Yagura's hands flew up into seals. "Tch. Annoying idiot. I'd rather capture you alive and torture you myself, actually."

Deidara ripped off his cloak, just as Yagura finished his seals. "Suiton: Bakusui Shoha!"

A giant, massive, tidal wave erupted underneath us and I stood up shakily on it. The tidal wave slammed directly into Deidara before the nuke-nin could do anything else. It threw him under the water with enough force Deidara actually slammed into the bottom, creating a small crater.

Yagura wasted no time in diving in after him, his hands flying into seals, while I kneeled back down. My hands glowed a bright white and I began to build up chakra in my hands. The water beneath me began to swirl and move, flowing and tearing at everything so much so that it became too distorted to see what was transpiring beneath me, but I had a fairly good idea. It was one of Yagura's signature moves—Suiton: Shita Ni Konran. It transformed any large body of water into a whirling death trap of high-speed, and chaotic waves, torrents, and whirlpools, with him as the only way to control it.

I felt a wave of fatigue press down on me as I continued to channel more and more chakra into my hands. The soldier pill was beginning to wear off, and I was feeling the drain of running hard for so long, coupled with the extra strain of me entering the Void. What I held in my hands would be the final attack.

I stumbled a bit, having a harder time concentrating with the waves crashing all around me.

Suddenly, Yagura broke free of the surface and leapt up into the air. In that instance, I threw my hands into the water, releasing my built up Tōketsu-Raiton.

The entire water glowed a bright white and I could feel—through my jutsu—Deidara. He was barely conscious, fighting the waves and currents, but the pressure was too much and he was nearly out of air. I manipulated my chakra around him, layering it and lessening it before releasing my hold entirely.

The water glowed brightly before freezing over entirely and shattering into ice-dust.

I shuddered, breathing heavily as I fell to the ground (as the water was gone) and disliking the strain I felt.

"Excellent work, Nao," Yagura praised. "Now let's—"

The ground erupted from right behind me and my spine tingled, my eyes widening. Yagura's eyes widened and everything seemed to drop to a slow crawl. Slowly, so slowly, I turned my head, breath caught in throat, and for a moment I saw Deidara and a thing of molded clay in his hands, and in the next, I saw Yagura before me.

Yagura's staff whipped out and I saw water pour out of it (it was his signature move—Suiton: Mizukagami, just as the bird started to glow -

(He wasn't going to make it)

Suddenly Yagura dropped his staff and threw himself over me and then everything went white and there was a deafening explosion and my ears were ringing and we were flying away. We crashed—I crashed, Yagura on top of me—on the cold ground a ways from there, the air leaving me cruely from the landing.

Silence fell between the us and I blinked my eyes, thankful that I had remembered to close them and that I had goggles on, so I wasn't blinded. I wiggled out from under Yagura, careful not to move him too much and quickly rolled onto my knees, kneeling before him and taking in the damage.

He was unconscious. He had tried to form his Mirrors, but there wasn't enough time, so he decided to use himself as a shield.

I felt my heart constrict at the thought, and I felt it tighten even more so when I took in the damage. My stomach dropped and I felt a curling thread of dread grow in the pit of my stomach and worm its way through me.

His entire back side was was nearly burnt beyond help, flesh and seared cloth clung to him and the smell of burnt flesh rose all around me. I pulled out a white scroll with a red cross painted on it and I unrolled it. I pulled out a second one that mimicked the first one and unrolled it, as well.

Slowly, carefully, meticulously, I pulled out the thick gauze and the tubes of ointment.

I set to work.

* * *

**Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ**

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. . .

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**Interlude - Nao - 3**

We had reached the next village, Kame and I. I had enough money from the mission-pay of being an errand-girl left over from my latest mission to buy enough clothes for Kame without worry of being broken.

Once Kame was settled in his new clothes, he gave me a warm smile as we exited the village. "Thank you, Nao-chan."

I blushed at the boy. "I'm glad to have been of help, Kame-kun. Have any of your memories returned?"

Kame's eyes trailed down, a shadow casted over his face as we past under the tall trees. "No. I… I'm sorry."

Moving forward, I placed my hand on his shoulder in what I hoped to be a consoling gesture. It was at times like these, that I would have rather been born as a regular Yamanaka instead of a different one. I would never be able to learn the mind-transfer jutsu, nor could I learn how to delve deeply into an unfamiliar mind and bring forth forgotten memories. Kame glanced over at me, his cheeks looking a bit rosy as he smiled. "Thanks… I just… I just wish I could, you know? The only thing… the only thing I can remember are… are… eyes."

I squeezed his shoulder. "I… I think I know a way."

Kame looked up at me, his eyes widening. "You do?"

I gave a shy smile. "Maybe. My Papa… he's an expert at being able to divulge forgotten memories from someone. It's our clan's kekkai genkai, though I didn't inherit it."

"Do you think he would be willing to look inside my head?" Kame asked hesitantly.

"I know he would. After all, you're my friend and Papa always told me he would help me any friend of mine," I assured him, smiling adoringly at him. I blushed brightly when Kame beamed at me.

"That's wonderful! Where can we find him?"

"In Konohagakure—that's my home."

Kame gave a firm nod. "Then lead the way, Nao-chan!"

* * *

**_First things first... _**_I'm having trouble thinking of a design for the SS uniform. If any of you guys have ideas, I'd appreciate it if you let me know. Either a precise description in a PM, or you can draw it and send me a link. You don't have to if you don't want to, but it'd be helpful for suggestions. Only criteria being its unisex._

_**Answer: **Pakkun. Love that guy._

**_Question: _**_Favorite Kage?_

**_Preview:_**

"Come on," Ino persisted, realizing she found something he wouldn't respond to. "Admit it. We're adorable."

_Reviews are **love**!_

**_Second thing is second..._**_ Okay. Seriously. If you're going to criticize my work... please for the love of chocolate, **do it in a helpful manner or I will dismiss you as a**** flamer**. It's not that hard. _

_Also. I **really do **have a plan for Yagura. Just because **you** didn't see the plot-twist coming and don't like it, doesn't make it impossible or that I'm just pulling the almighty authoress card._


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